Plattsburgh planning OK's Homeland Security Investigations facility

PLATTSBURGH | The Town of Plattsburgh Planning & Community Development Board found a proposal to convert a warehouse at 284 Idaho Ave. into a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) office adheres to town zoning ordinance. HSI is the investigative arm of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The project proposes one non-overnight detention cell. The application fits Town of Plattsburgh A-2 zoning regulation, defining use for property near the airport open for public facilities. On 1.67 acres, the building was purchased more than two years ago for a figure north of $1,000,000, planners said, on April 11, 2023, by West Second Street Associates (WSSA), a real estate developer based in Flint, Michigan. They plan to lease the building to the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), which redesigned the 10,000 square foot site as an investigations facility. Project drawings are unclassified, marked Property of the United States Government. Project documents are available online: townofplattsburghny.gov/departments/planning/gsa-plattsburgh-site-plan-2025-public-information/ PUBLIC CONCERN On paper, the project suits the site and the planning board acknowledged it does. But nearly 200 residents of Plattsburgh attended the Nov. 18 meeting and raised a great deal of concern for community safety amid prevalent mistrust of detainment procedures. With strong support for ongoing redevelopment success in Plattsburgh, this project raises alarm, pending arrival of a federal agency affiliated with ICE. Public comments called attention to ongoing ICE arrests around the country at schools, at established court appointments, in hospitals, at worksites, homes, shopping centers, apartment buildings and in streets, and the aggressive use of force by federal "officers" who don't provide warrant or identification. They expressed concern that similar ICE detention behavior could proliferate here. "What's being proposed is a beacon of hate," one long-time city planner said, suggesting it would darken "all the good work we've done over the decades. "Do we want to be silent? Or do we want to stand up for what's right?" he asked, saying he's tired of seeing grandmothers pushed to the ground and three-year-old children zip-tied. "I don't trust one word out of their (project proponents) mouths, and neither should you. We all love Plattsburgh. That's why we're here. Things are worth fighting for, and that's why we're here. And we're not going away." WHAT IS THIS? The meeting Tuesday, Nov. 18, followed an Oct. 21 planning board session that tabled GSA/HSI project review because too many questions remained unanswered. The meeting was held in the West Side Ballroom to accommodate widespread public input. Plattsburgh's Senior Planner Trevor Cole presented the nuts and bolts of the project, outlining site and interior design changes proposed to convert what has for years been a warehouse into an investigations office with one holding cell. The first application identified "some temporary short-term holding/detention facilities." But after the last meeting, the board asked the developer for specifics: "What is this facility?" The applicant responded less than 24 hours before Tuesday's meeting, it is: "A Government office for DHS/HSI, which is an investigative organization (non-enforcement) with an ADA/ABAAS accessible sized, short-term, non-overnight holding cell to process informants, witnesses, etc. To emphasize it will not be used for detention." As a directorate of ICE, HSI is tasked with investigating border-related crimes, including human trafficking, drug smuggling, and financial fraud. ............... THE PLAN The 10,000 square foot warehouse on Idaho Ave. would be refit for investigative services. Architectural drawings in the project docket identify work areas arrayed around 10,000 square foot, nearly square, floorplan with: A forensics laboratory and forensics storage area; a Title III (electronic surveillance law) "wire" room; technicians' lab area; weapons and ammunition storage areas and a weapons clean room; evidence preparation and storage areas; locker rooms, showers and a fitness area, along with a reception room on the southwest side, according to project documents. The one detention cell would be built inside a 1,120 square foot addition beside a new sallyport, which is a secured entrance for vehicles. The detention addition includes a storage area, detention vestibule and property room. Two 56-square-foot, single-story additions would also be added to southern east and west corners of the building. Site plans include engineered lighting specifications, exterior improvements, parking arrangement, erosion control and runoff topography maps. The facility would provide parking for 44 vehicles for purportedly 46 employees. Answers were provided by the applicant, West Second Street Associates (WSSA). According to project documents, WSSA will lease the property to the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), the federal agency responsible for managing government buildings. Answers to questions about use filter to WSSA from GSA, who seeks responses, apparently, from DHS. The planning board was told the property owner would have personnel at the Nov. 18 meeting and West Second Street Associates retained well-known local attorney and former Congressman Bill Owens to represent the project and answer questions. "The original application described it as a government office for DHS/HSI, Homeland Security Investigations, which is an investigative organization, non-enforcement," Owens said, "with an (accessible) short-term, non-overnight holding cell to process informants, witnesses, etc. To emphasize, it would not be used for detention. I don't think any of the other questions are as germane as that one is. I represent the owner, not GSA." The board pressed for clarification. "I think that at the last meeting, the consensus of the public was that this is an ICE facility, and of course, with all that's been going on over the past 10 months, ICE is a bad word," a board member summed. "I would like you to confirm, if you could, that this is not an ICE facility, ie. 'Alligator whatever-it-is' and detention centers on the southern border." Owens answered: "As represented to me by my client, through their discussions with GSA, this is not an ICE facility, it's an HSI facility." "Which is offices?" the board member asked. Owens answered: "It's office, investigative, which is why they have space for processing evidence." "And as far as the detention part," the board member asked, "how would that be used? To bring in someone that needs to be processed?" Owens said "That's precisely what it would be used for." "So they would be brought there and then the paperwork would be done at the facility ... before they go before a federal judge, is that correct?" Owens said: "That may be one of the pathways, yes." The board asked who would provide medical care to persons in detention as required under federal standards, especially as it relates to infectious disease. Owens said he was advised by his client that an ill person would be treated by a medic level person or transported to a hospital. Town Senior Planner Cole went through the list of answers to questions the board posed last month. Responses indicate the facility will have 24/7 surveillance inside and out. Hours of operation will be a federal workday: "7:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday, with the exception of Federal holidays." Meeting discussion pointed to the Clinton County Jail as the detention facility being used by ICE in Plattsburgh. ....................................... COMMUNITY QUESTIONS Residents repeatedly asked the planning board to hold zoning approval until community knows exactly what agency is going to use the building for. "HSI is a branch of ICE, which itself is a sub-agency of DHS," one jurist in the audience said. "The applicant even describes HSI as non-enforcement, which is inaccurate. "HSI is a criminal law enforcement agency with arrest and custody authority. Without accurate agency identification, the board cannot evaluate impact or zoning compliance," they said. "The applicant also repeatedly refers to detainees in its responses. Because the use plainly involves custodial detention functions, it must be fully disclosed and evaluated under SEQRA. "And (the application) does not explain how a facility with detention functions fits within a town's definition of a public building/use or whether a special use/variance is required." They asserted that detention requires Type 1 (detailed) SEQRA review to determine zoning compliance. SEQRA refers to the State Environmental Quality Review Act, state law that requires government agencies to assess environmental, social, and economic impacts of proposed projects before they are approved. The Planning Board went through the SEQRA steps after public comments closed and found no inconsistencies to zoning regulation. In order to bring further review to this case, the town would have to pass local legislation to define Type 1 SEQRA classification. Speakers raised questions about the facility's proximity to the airport as potential detriment to civilian air travel operations, and questioned safety. They repeatedly pointed out that no person from the property owner's Flint, Michigan office has come to the meetings. Human Rights advocates pointed out that Clinton County jail is being used as a detention center. "A week ago, Friday," one advocate said, "ten people were detained here and of those 10, nine have whereabouts unknown. "We can't hide behind language that says non-detention -- only one person. People are being held in offices that were never intended for detention, multiple people, overcrowding, unsanitary, no access to family, to legal, to medical ...we can't hide behind the vague dissembling language of this project proposal. "Most of my adult life, I've puzzled over 'What did the good Germans do? What did the good Germans do?'" they asked. "I believe this is our good Germans' moment." Another speaker said their father survived the Holocaust, and his brother survived because one good German hid them and got them out. "Does this make our community better, safer?" another commenter asked. "To my knowledge, there's no price attached to this facility. How much taxpayer money goes to it, how much does it cost?" they asked, questioning federal priority spending on ICE instead of healthcare. The youngest speaker, an elementary school age child, stepped to a microphone they could barely reach and shared memories of taking walks with Bright Beginnings Daycare past the Idaho Avenue building. "If they are walking, are they going to be safe there?" the child asked. ............... APPROVAL Planning Board Chairman Tim Palmer was asked if they've ever had this many people turn out to express concern. "No," he said, they haven't. Asked if he's seen this level of passion pushing against development plans, he said some projects do draw attention. But town planning is confined to decision-making based on the comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance. Town Attorney Matthew Favro advised that the board has to remain within zoning law guidance. As designed on paper, the project fits. With a motion and second to accept the application, Palmer brought the measure to a vote. The crowd remained hopeful, having poured three hours of wholehearted concern into the room. One board member had recused themselves from review due to potential conflict of interest in federal employment. The real estate company's GSA/HSI renovation project passed in a 3-1 vote. The room didn't erupt in uproar, maintaining polite discourse carried throughout the meeting. Many speakers thanked planning board members for their work. The project still has to obtain a Code Enforcement permit, Cole said, and enforcement is facing unanswered questions. The Planning Board still has to review GSA/HSI construction plans to ensure they meet zoning criteria.

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Plattsburgh planning OK's Homeland Security Investigations facility

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