Clarkson project would benefit many

Clarkson University’s plans to develop an environmental research center at its downtown Potsdam campus have run afoul of the village zoning law.

Clarkson is renovating its long-vacant Old Main building into a research facility to monitor and analyze data from the Hudson, Mohawk and St. Lawrence rivers to better understand changes in the environment. The project, in conjunction with the Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries, is being funded by the Dormitory Authority with IBM providing $1 million in computer software and technology to establish the energy-efficient facility.

The village Planning Board, however, denied the university’s site plan application since it fell several hundred spaces short of zoning law requirements. The university hopes to meet some of the need by tearing down another building it purchased from a fraternity, but that will require a zoning change and even if approved will not satisfy the requirements.

The collaborative effort by the college, government and private sector would benefit all involved. The renovation work will mean jobs in rehabilitating an abandoned building that will help revitalize the downtown. State funds that would have gone to the Beacon Institute will be directed to Clarkson, which will benefit from advanced technology that can be used in other research programs.

Potsdam, which has failed to build a hydroelectric facility at great to cost to its taxpayers, should work with Clarkson to clear the way for a project that will make the university a leader in research on the health of America’s rivers.