Considering battery storage on your East Fishkill land?

Start with the parcel and the current review route

This guide concerns the Town of East Fishkill in Dutchess County. Town of Fishkill and Village of Fishkill are separate jurisdictions. Have the project team put the actual parcel number, municipality and zoning district on its drawing.

The online energy chapter still displays older provisions alongside a notice of Local Law 2-2026. Use the adopted amendment as well as the chapter and later-law directory. An old district list or distance copied into a proposal may no longer describe the applicable rule.

The January amendment describes siting in any Town district immediately adjacent to a substation or utility corridor. It also includes boundary-distance and minimum-parcel conditions. The language is not a promise that all land near electrical equipment qualifies.

Ask the Town to identify the required decisions in writing. The amendment has Planning Board special-permit and site-plan wording in its replacement of Section 100-19, while its replacement of Section 100-20 refers to a Town Board special permit. Do not settle that distinction by choosing the easier reading.

A utility connection needs separate investigation. Ask about the proposed connection, current studies, upgrade costs and rights outside your land. Local siting language cannot tell you whether the project has an affordable connection.

Reference: Town of East Fishkill: adopted Local Law 2-2026, battery-storage amendment · Town of East Fishkill: Chapter 100, read together with later amendments · Town of East Fishkill: adopted laws awaiting codification

Check the later industrial-land pause before setting deadlines

Local Law 3-2026 addresses development applications on undeveloped land in industrial districts through December 31, 2026. It includes provisions for land with existing approvals and projects eligible for and granted an Economic Development Special Permit. The Town Board reserves interpretation.

The same law separately addresses data centers and states an overall July 1, 2029 term. Those provisions should not be reduced to one blanket battery-storage deadline. Ask for the determination covering the actual property and application.

If a company says an exception applies, request its basis and the relevant approval. A battery special permit and an Economic Development Special Permit should not be treated as interchangeable simply because both use the words special permit.

Compare the public review schedule with your private agreement. How long could the company hold the property while waiting? Is the extension automatic? What is paid during that time, and when can you regain freedom to sell, rent or use the reserved ground?

A date in a law does not guarantee permission to begin work the following day. Ask about later adopted action and the remaining application steps. You can discuss your land while these questions are being resolved without granting an unlimited hold.

Reference: Town of East Fishkill: adopted Local Law 3-2026, industrial-land and data-center moratorium · Town of East Fishkill: adopted laws awaiting codification

Separate the host parcel from the land the company wants

The January battery amendment specifies a parcel of at least 15 acres and changes the older separation standards. A parcel-size requirement does not mean all 15 acres would be occupied or that a 15-acre parcel will work.

Request a marked drawing applying the complete current standards. It should identify the equipment enclosure, nearby buildings, parcel boundaries, substation or corridor, any adjoining solar farm, access, drainage and screening. Have the designer explain how the boundary conditions apply to this site.

Then mark what the private agreement reserves. Does it cover only the equipment ground, a larger exclusive area or the whole parcel? Are access roads and cables inside that area or covered by separate rights?

For example, a narrow cable route across a field may affect where you can build or plant even though no battery enclosure sits there. Ask which uses you retain and how temporary construction areas will be restored.

Walk through everyday access before signing. Can you still reach the rear of the property? Who maintains a shared driveway, clears snow and repairs damage from heavy vehicles? Put the agreed responsibilities alongside the drawing.

Reference: Town of East Fishkill: adopted Local Law 2-2026, battery-storage amendment

Know what an owner signature authorizes

The amended application requirements call for all property owners’ signatures demonstrating consent to the application and proposed use. Review the document and attached plan before signing.

Ask whether the signature permits a public filing only, or also entry, surveys, testing, exclusive negotiations or future occupation. Keep a complete copy. A short consent form should not be assumed to contain only a short-term permission.

Explain co-ownership, tenants, company or trust ownership and existing agreements early. Your adviser can identify who has authority to sign and which other rights must be addressed.

Agree on how changes reach you. A revised access route, larger reserved area or changed equipment proposal may affect the land differently. Identify which changes require another written agreement.

Reference: Town of East Fishkill: adopted Local Law 2-2026, battery-storage amendment

Keep land payments separate from ongoing project expenses

The January amendment requires Town Board agreement to a community-benefit agreement before a special permit is issued under its replacement Section 100-19. A public benefit agreement is separate from the payment you negotiate for land rights.

Ask for a payment schedule that distinguishes investigation, construction and operation. Identify the trigger for each amount and what happens if the proposal stops. Compare the schedule with your own expenses and plans for the property.

The amendment also requires three-year review of the special permit and removal security. Have the agreement identify who pays for reviews, maintains the required funding and provides you with evidence that obligations have been met.

Do not rely on a quoted annual payment without checking the costs allocated to you. Ask about taxes, consultants, access maintenance, damage and other bills that could arrive in your name. Your agreement should provide a practical way to resolve unpaid amounts.

Reference: Town of East Fishkill: adopted Local Law 2-2026, battery-storage amendment

Plan for removal and a change of owner

Review the actual removal plan and security documents with the private agreement. Ask what will be removed, what remains, who restores the ground and how the funding stays adequate as costs change.

The January amendment requires successors to assume approval obligations in writing. It also requires written notice to the Building Department within 30 days of a change in the battery-system owner or operator; failure to provide timely notice can void local approvals.

Prepare the transfer process before a closing or assignment. Who delivers the notice and retains proof? Who takes responsibility for existing obligations, and what financial support backs the replacement company?

If you may sell the property, give your advisers the energy agreement, plans and approval conditions early. Establish what the buyer would inherit and what happens to payments. Avoid leaving project rights out of the sale discussion.

Town-held security and private promises serve different purposes. Ask your adviser whether the documents protect the return of the property to the condition and use you expect, including roads, foundations, cable routes and drainage.

Reference: Town of East Fishkill: adopted Local Law 2-2026, battery-storage amendment

Tell us about your land

Start with your name, email and phone, then the property location. Dutchess County and New York are selected here and can be corrected. Acreage and a parcel number are optional.

Mention the current use, any offer or existing energy agreement, and a sale, rental or other deadline that matters to you. If you have a proposed layout or a Town response, say so. You do not need a technical application to begin a conversation.

An inquiry does not reserve your property, grant entry or authorize an application. Further review should establish the actual jurisdiction, current rules, workable layout, connection prospects and proposed land terms.