Committee approves permanent access easement to City of Harlem

The Columbia County Development Planning Services Committee voted on Feb. 10 to grant a permanent access easement to the City of Harlem to allow the city to build a driveway serving a new public works building.

Mister Schachter, an unidentified committee member who presented the item, said the county and city parcels are next to one another and are "flagpole lots," making existing access narrow. "It's about 10 foot wide," he said, describing the constrained access. He explained the city will construct the driveway on its parcel and the county will secure a reciprocal easement across the city's land to reach the county parcel.

The Chair (unidentified) called for consent; the motion was seconded and approved by consent. The transcript does not record a roll-call or vote tally.

Why it matters: The easement permits the City of Harlem to build a public-works access road that also provides the county with cross-access. Mister Schachter said that if the county later develops its parcel, the parties will work out a maintenance agreement for the driveway at that time.

What happens next: The grant of easement is approved at the committee level by consent; the transcript does not specify further filings or recording steps.