Emilia Teasdale in The Columbia Paper reports that officials in Kinderhook have set a public hearing for changes to the zoning laws that were crafted behind closed doors. The 7 p.m., Thu., Nov. 6 public hearing considers changes that, will expand the home occupation laws in residential neighborhoods, relax off-street parking laws, and remove some environmental protections, among other issues. The town has a PDF of the proposed changes on its website. “I don’t see any public demands for the changes,” Marcia Anderson said at an Oct. 20 Town of Kinderhook meeting, when the public hearing was announced. “You have people who say that’s shadow government,” Ed Simonsen, who was involved with making changes to the town’s comprehensive plan, said of the committee having met without public notification. He also said that not inviting members of the Comprehensive Plan Committee to make the changes “look suspicious.” The public hearing for the proposal is set for 7 p.m., Thu., Nov. 6, with a budget hearing that night at 6:30 p.m. and the regular town board meeting at 7:30 p.m. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.