Starkey will again consider moratorium

STARKEY—The town of Starkey will hold a public hearing Thursday, April 10 to address extending a moratorium on high impact industrial use.  The meeting will take place at 7 p.m. at the Starkey town hall at 40 Seneca St. Town officials will gather to hear public comments on an extension of the soon to expire moratorium on high volume industrial uses in the town.
Starkey’s moratorium was first enacted in 2012 and was extended by a year in 2013. The moratorium is set to expire in April and the town is seeking an additional year extension. The Yates County planning board recently rejected the bid for an extension, but the town can still approve one with a supermajority vote.
 The moratorium will allow the town to continue the study on the health and environmental impacts of high volume horizontal hydrofracking. The Starkey planning board is currently rewriting the town’s comprehensive plan, taking into consideration the results of a town survey of residents’ and property owners’ opinions on various issues, including heavy industry. The town has a sub-committee currently studying the issue and assisting in the completion of the town’s comprehensive plan. The state of New York is also currently conducting a moratorium on the issue to study whether or not to allow fracking on a state level.