Carly Miller is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the Cairo Town Board is poised to vote on three amendments to the town's 2017 zoning laws. A public hearing has been scheduled for July, but a date for the vote has not yet been set. The Main Street Commercial District amendment would require building owners to reserve the first-floor storefront for commercial use as a strategy to jumpstart brick-and-mortar development, Cairo Town Supervisor Daniel Benoit said. Board member Jason Watts, who opposes the amendment, noted that times are changing and that storefronts are struggling to compete with online sales. Two amendments focus on commercial solar development. The first would require solar companies to seed and maintain 20 percent of their land with native plants that attract pollinators. The second would restrict the amount of land for commercial solar use town wide to 180 acres, which would power every home in town, Benoit said. “It can be argued that we’ve allowed enough development to create power for all of our town’s residents,” Benoit said. “So we’ve done our fair share.” The restriction applies to commercial solar farms, not solar panels on homes or a homeowner’s property. The public hearing on the zoning amendments will be held 7 p.m., July 2, during the regular Cairo Town Board meeting at town hall. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.