A portion of Clovewood Development Plan for 600 Homes + Possible Accessory Dwellings to Locate Beneath the Schunnemunk Ridge State Park
Instructions to Participate in an Online Public Hearing Offered by the DEC re. Clovewood on Wednesday April 3
THE DIRECT LINKS:
…Persons who wish to receive the instructions by mail or telephone may contact the NYS DEC Office of Hearings and Mediation Services by phone at (518) 402-9003 or by e-mail to ohms@dec.ny.gov. Please provide your first and last name, address, and telephone number and reference the Clovewood public comment hearing.
Lengthy statements should be in writing and summarized for oral presentation. Reasonable time limits will be set for each speaker.
If you want to participate in the hearing you must register ahead of time via the following links. Contact a friend or official if you need help or are unsure whether you are registered or are uncomfortable/unsure about the process. The more people that participate, the better concerns will be heard and attended to. THE VILLAGE OF WASHINGTONVILLE WILL BE OPENING VILLAGE HALL TO ENABLE PEOPLE TO ASSEMBLE AND WATCH/HEAR THE SESSIONS LIVE (one at 2pm and one at 6pm). WE WILL MAKE ALL EFFORT TO CONNECT A MICROPHONE TO THE VILLAGE PHONE SO THAT THOSE WHO ARE SIGNED UP CAN SPEAK FROM THE VILLAGE HALL....HOWEVER, IF YOU ARE SIGNED UP AND PLANNING TO VIEW/PARTICIPATE AT THE VILLAGE HALL, BRING YOUR CELL PHONE JUST IN CASE ANY CONNECTION ISSUE ARISES WITH THE MICROPHONE CONNECTION. EACH SPEAKER WILL BE NOTIFIED OF THEIR TURN VIA A REGISTRATION NUMBER THAT WILL BE SENT TO EACH SIGNEE. LENGTH OF EACH SESSION WILL DEPEND ON THE NUMBER OF SIGNEES. OBVIOUSLY IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO SIGN UP EARLY IN CASE THERE IS A RUSH OF LAST MINUTE APPLICATIONS.
FOR ANY OTHER QUESTIONS CONTACT TRACEY O'MALLEY OF THE DEC at 845-256-3054.
ONLY ONE SPEAKING SESSION PER PERSON. PLEASE BE POLITE, RESPECTFUL AND STICK TO FACTS!!!!
HERE IS THE MOST DIRECT LINK TO REGISTER AND PARTICIPATE IN THE HEARING!!! THE HEARING, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, IS AUDIO ONLY, WITH THE SCREEN SHOWING AN IMAGE OF THE SITE, IN ORDER TO PRESERVE ANONYMNITY OF THE PARTICIPANTS. THERE WAS NOTICE, HOWEVER, THAT A JUDGE WILL BE PRESENT, MAKING PARTICIPATION ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT.
THE LINK:
…Persons who wish to receive the instructions by mail or telephone may contact the NYS DEC Office of Hearings and Mediation Services by phone at (518) 402-9003 or by e-mail to ohms@dec.ny.gov. Please provide your first and last name, address, and telephone number and reference the Clovewood public comment hearing.
Lengthy statements should be in writing and summarized for oral presentation. Reasonable time limits will be set for each speaker.
Editorial to Department of Environmental Conservation
( History of the Clovewood Project )
Edie Johnson
Executive Editor
Orange County Courier Journal
www.courierjournalocny
Our Greater Blooming Grove Community has been struggling with real concerns over this project and its many iterations for at least 15 years, and has had a list of factors that impact residents' lives directly and indirectly, most of which they believe are not now, nor have ever been mitigated in a sufficiently meaningful way during that time. As a freelance journalist almost 20 years ago, and then as Editor of the Orange County Post and now as Executive Editor of the Orange County Courier Journal, I have attended dozens of meetigs and written many news stories about this project's progress (or lack of it as far as environmental and socio-economic factors are cocerned). Chief continuing in problems I have observed in the latest plan include the following:
Lack of adequate water for the project without negatively impacting other residents AND the area's already stressed aquifer.
Faulty Stormwater Designs that continue to create turbulence and flooding in the Satterly Creek during Rainy Season and just last week resulted in road closures....and has historically run dry during hot Summer Weather and is therefore not a realistic effluent disposal alternative.
Devastating impacts on burgeoning Tourism Industry of Schunnemunk State Park in the Blooming Grove area, the new Schunnemunk Rail Trail, Gonzaga Park, and deterrent to tourism visitors at numerous sensitive viewsheds along the many trails of this gateway to the Catskills. Tourism is an essential lifeline to the socio-economic future and environmental health of the currently existing community.
Destruction of wildlife, flora and fauna not only of Timber Rattlesnakes but dozens of other species that are not at all adequately mitigated by the current Open Space Plan
Unrealistic impact on traffic i.e. Route 208 , the increasing traffic which is already causing growing congestion, and frequent accidents including deaths
Socio-economic burden on moderate single-family homes, especially of the many retired residents on fixed incomes, of taxes due to children of school age, additional police, fire, health and other services
Witness Saturday, March 23rd's second round of flooding in a month's time, in addition to and after an initial DEC citation, causing road closures in a 5-mile area around the Satterly Creek, just downstream of Clovewood and where its drainage combines with that of "Prospect Gardens"....surrounded by houses with individual wells and septic systems..... the main reason being the cumulative over 400 acres, mostly clearcut, and with little to no onsite remaining absorption. DEC needs to begin to consider cumulative environmental effects, at least within a 5 to 10-mile radius.
This video was taken on Saturday, March 23, and the Highway Superintendent notified, about 45 minutes before the road flooded. They were already monitoring it, as the heavy drainage was within an inch of the roadway. Photo by Edie Johnson
The DEC received over 100 letters from residents concerned about pending acceptance of a set of environmental approvals for the massive Clovewood Development (AKA historically known as Lake Anne) plans adjacent to the Schunnemunk Ridge and New York Parkland, their plans having already experienced numerous violations but only one minimal fine, during its preliminary land preparation, including illegal dyeing of water that courses through miles of drinking water resources in the Town, including more than 10 miles of the Satterly Creek. the DEC has now responded by offering an online Public Hearing on April 3. Residents were told that the dye was not toxic, but were never able to find out its exact mixture, and as you can imagine being presented a glass with that water...few would drink it whether passed through a filter or not (photos below). And that is before sewage effluent which is expected to be added, and whether treated or not sewage treatment at large projects can be problemmatic where there are chronic drainage issues that flood the treatment area. Additionally, those with home filters on their water systems worried about its potential effect on their system, while others felt they had to consider expensive filtration decisions to make sure their families' health would be protected. Others joined the numbers of longtime residents who felt they needed to leave the area, especially given the possibility that this large number of new homes could double with the click of a pen that could allow a local zoning change for an "Accessory Dwelling" for each dwelling unit already in a high density location.
Other violations included; Road building without a permit, additional improper drainage plans that resulted in additional turbulance and "muddied" waters of creeks and streams, irreverrence to numerous "Stop Work Orders", destruction of habitat of the critically endangered timber rattlesnake, (with plans to "TAKE", i.e. "kill" many more) and destroy more of their habitat), and a design that would discharge treated sewage into the the "Satterly Creek" with a record of frequently going dry during Summer months and now overflowing its banks at times due to the ineffective drainage plans of both this and another new development, called "Prospect Gardens" that received additional stormwater violations just this month (also along the Satterly Creek). The impact on the rich wildlife, flora and fauna of the area has had minimal consideration. The potential impact on the views up Scunnemunk Ridge and Gonzaga Parklands, of 600 homes (with or without accessory dwellings) could be disastrous to the area's newly growing Tourism industry, especially with regard to the new branch of the Schunnemunk Rail Trail UNLESS VERY CAUTIOUSLY DESIGNED, PLANNED, AND WITH RESTRICTIONS ON FUTURE CHANGES OF THE OPEN SPACES , IDEALLY WITH BROAD CONSERVATION EASEMENTS THAT INCLUDE REGULAR MONITORING. All this, and consider the basic issue of sufficient water, since adjacent properties were impacted by the project's well-testing, and even more concerning, that the internationally renowned hydrogeology company that evaluated the potential of the underlying aquifer to handle the additional stress gave detailed explanations to large groups of local residents about the likelihood that additional strain could seriously damage the ability of this aquifer to recharge, in that once the microbiology of the base of the aquifer is sufficiently disturbed its ability to refresh could simply stop.
Roadbuilding/Clearing before Permits Obtained
The project is additionally missing details of how the housing plans would have architectural restrictions that would blend them into the mountainous, ecologically and historically important surroundings (color, size, height). Are traffic plans to manage the huge influx of vehicles realistic? Will the socio-economic burden of support services (police, fire, school, health) break the backs of the Village's significant single-family and retired residents who rely on fixed-incomes? The project should not progress at all unless these questions are adequately answered.
In sum, the majority of residents in the areas surrounding this proposed project believe that due to the large number of homes planned, the views that brought residents here to begin with, the fresh water that sustains its abundant wildlife, flora and fauna, and the fresh air and health, both physically and mentally, of the Valley beneath the Schunnemunk WHICH the area is KNOWN FOR (residents' travels here to restore their health are well documented back to the early 1900's), would be at grave risk from this project. Further, the original hopes to mitigate impact by well-planned use of open space originally in this project in order to NOT to deter the advantages that Tourism not only brings to the overall economy, but adds to the ecology of the of the environment via the nature-supportive programs they bring and that will likely vanish if the enticing views and wildlife are gone. With the addition of open space soon providing new trail connections through Woodbury, the new links of the Schunnemunk Rail Trail AND connection to the Highlands Trail then connects to the Appalachian Trail, which as you know continues all the way North to Maine and South to Georgia. These changes are a grand effort to improve the health and well-being of this and the coming generatios in this FIRST environmentally significant area of the Catskills beyond Bear Mountain. This adds even more urgency to longterm proper design of any housing at the foothills of Schunnemunk, which would be better placed closer to the other existing housing where the property abuts Clove Road (a plan that would allow real open space, trails and recreation area in the more sensitive acres).
Considering the failures to date of this project to fit the needs of much of the existing population of the area, and the lack of significant fines applied when they disregarded DEC rules for many months (as well as their disegard of the citations applied), the public has little faith that this project will get and respect proper guidance that would fit well with the greater community it is hoping to join. Only another series of well-monitored LOCALLY held additional public hearings that would address each of these problems and give additional guidance have the potential to heal the doubts and fears on both sides of this challenge between housing needs and the economic, social, and health vitality of the area.
Since many of the isues that have plagued this project to date seem to be a repeating pattern with the three other development along the Satterly, and two of which have also already received citations, it would seem that there are developers who either lack or don't care about necesary background knowledge about impacts of changing an area's terrain, and need REGULAR considerable oversight by someone more knowledgeable about these things. )Perhaps a local DEC office). Along with that, some State regulations appear to need updating. For instance, rushed clearcutting during last Spring left numerous unsightly large mounds of decaying wood on grounds throughout the Village in a rush to get all cutting done before Indiana Bat protection season begins, leaves wood piles ready to ignite during the hottest months of the year....in this town alone that happened on hundreds of acres during April of 2023, nearly destroying Round Hill Mountain. It would seem that there should be limits on clearcutting of more than 10 acres at a time, AND immediate removal of the dead wood AND alternate drainage installed immediately post deforaging to compensate for the loss of absorption as the water runs downhill. And Secondly, the State should change its oversight rules of land designated as Agricultural where it allows common sense to be vacated with regard to environmental and public safety. This is especially true where MILLIONS of tons of fill are pemitted to be dumped or removed at a site, thus changing the entire topography to an extent that normal drainage fixes simply do not work. Numerous agriculturally designated land owners have recently used that designation to make massive changes just before selling to developers...clearly not the purpose of the lenient Ag & Markets regulations.
Additional requirements of PHASING of the work done while developing land and building projects is essential and could help resolve many of these problems, especially in this instance, especially as population growth and need for housing threaten to take priority over the health of both the people already living in those places, as well as those wanting to move in.
What are the specific plans for Open Space and Trails Accessibility
All of the above concens are especially relevant when a development stands to change the entire character of the municipality, by both the enormity of its anticipated population relative to the existing community, and expanse of the land disruption being consideed. Requiring "Phasing" of any projects of this size, especially in a relatively small community, and each progressive phase being dependent on the success of the prior phase could go a long way toward mitigating "a mountain of problems" (sic)
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