A proposed martial arts and yoga studio at 11 Towpath Road received strong support at the September 14 Rochester planning board meeting. The applicants, Ezra and Carrie Firestone and the project’s representative Renn Hawkey may receive a decision on September 28.

Max Stratton, a martial artist and a member of the nearby Marbletown planning board, said that he could “speak firsthand” to the benefit the studio would bring to the community. Stratton said that Rochester and Ulster County “would be better off with this dojo in existence.”

“It instills discipline, hard work, determination, and dedication,” Stratton said. “It refines not only the physical body but the mind as well.”

Several community members came to the meeting with their children and spoke to how they would appreciate an extra activity for them. At the July 13 meeting when the project was first presented to the planning board, Ezra and Carrie emphasized the “third space” for children and a room for babies and toddlers to allow parents to “relax and connect.” Community members also vouched for Ezra and Carrie, such as Accord resident Dave Ford.

“I have luckily gotten the chance to meet Carrie and Ezra over the years. And I'm here representing a huge group of my daughter's friends, most of them little girls that are thrilled to start right now,” Ford said. “We have a lot of folks that have a lot of different beliefs in our little 7,000 person community, and these types of community centers are like exactly what we need to bridge that divide.”

Ford also said that he would appreciate a martial arts studio closer by, instead of having to drive to New Paltz or Kingston.

However, Accord resident Jay Martin expressed concern about signage. Martin asked if the sign was going to be lit because “I prefer not to have blinky lights and a carnival atmosphere in my front yard.”

The applicants confirmed that the sign would be “downcast,” meaning there would be lights only on top of the sign to illuminate the sign itself rather than outward, and would be dark sky compliant. Rick Jones, the chair of the Rochester planning board, confirmed with the applicants that the sign would be dimmed to a security level or turned off by 10 p.m.

Board member Zorian Pinsky said that the lighting plan did not have a visible revision tracking, which the applicants would need to add as part of a unified site plan. The applicants will also have to prepare five complete hard-copy plan sets by the September 28 meeting.

The Historical Preservation Committee, which will meet on September 21, may provide comments on the project. If the comments are not submitted in time, the approval will include a condition requiring maps to be signed only after it is reviewed.