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The Common Council followed improper procedure in imposing a Battery Energy Storage System moratorium, Dunkirk Mayor Kate Wdowiasz stated in her veto message.
Wdowiasz wrote that she intends to share her own draft for a moratorium, following "procedural steps required for its lawful adoption," such as adopting a local law.
The City Hall paralegal-turned-mayor flashed her background in the veto message, taking a legalistic and detail-oriented tone. Wdowiasz laid out four main objections to the council's moratorium, with supporting paragraphs.
She first called the moratorium resolution "legally deficient." Wdowiasz said that such a moratorium requires a local law and its accompanying process, which the council did not do.
Wdowiasz also claims a "likely" violation of the state Open Meetings Law, because the moratorium resolution was not made available to the public at least 24 hours in advance of the council's 5-0 vote to pass it. The resolution was a "walk-in" that was not on the meeting's agenda.
However, resolution sponsor Councilwoman Natalie Luczkowiak blames obstructionism by city-contracted attorney Elliott Raimondo for the moratorium's failure to make the agenda.
Wdowiasz's second reason for the veto is that "the resolution was not adequately deliberated and appears targeted at a specific developer." She stated that the developer "has already invested significant time and resources pursuing approvals under the existing Zoning Code."
This is almost certainly a reference to the consortium that wants to put a BESS behind the former UPS warehouse on Brigham Road, next to the railroad tracks. A separate BESS, also off Brigham but considerably further away, has received its regulatory approvals.
Wdowiasz's third objection expresses concern that "the (moratorium) exemptions are not properly drafted" and could impact a BESS approved by some, but not all, regulatory bodies. She wrote the moratorium could halt such a BESS "in mid-process based on the happenstance of which approvals remained outstanding on Sept. 15, 2026, rather than on any distinction relevant to the stated purposes of the moratorium."
The mayor's fourth objection is that the exemptions do not apply equally to the separate Brigham Road developments. "One may fall within the exemption for projects with all required approvals, already obtained, while the other, despite comparable reliance in progress, may not."
Luczkowiak told the OBSERVER earlier this week that the Common Council plans its own local law process to pass a moratorium.
"We have a clear path under Municipal Home Rule Law to override (Wdowiasz's veto), provide a 10-day notice, hold a public hearing and adopt," she said.