B.G. FAMILY STORAGE - Warehouse Proposal
at Trestle Tree Lane
Joint Public Hearing at Blooming Grove Town Hall 7pm, Tuesday, May 7.
By Edie Johnson
05-07-24 3pm
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Blooming Grove - The applicant is proposing the construction of two – one story warehouse distribution facilities with a footprint of 147,960 +/- and 20,000 +/- square feet on a 26.5 acre site. Total parking includes 84 parking spaces; along with 22 loading docks for warehouse #1 and 4 loading docks for warehouse #2. Site access to Craigville Road via an extension of Trestle Tree Lane. The site would be served by an on-site subsurface sewage disposal and on-site well water supply. The proposed project site for the warehouse is in the NNI (Non-Nuisance Industry) zoning district, as well as in the Scenic Viewshed Overlay, and the Surface Water Overlay districts.
With the balance between open space and development becoming tighter and tighter, many Orange County communities in recent years have chosen to allow and even encourage commercial warehouses rather than housing developments because the cost of educating children from those new homes is putting a steep burden on taxpayers, especially those who have either no children or who's young ones have flown the nest, whereas warehouses bring a net positive tax benefit. This neighborhood near the eastern end of Craigville Rd. also has 2 relatively new developments that are settled and successful, and hold the area's open space as a top priority. Many communities, especially those who don't have an IP (Industrial Park), therfore, have put restrictions and moratoriums on additional warehouse proposals during the past 2 years. But alternatives to housing and warehousing to help lower property taxes are limited in a rural area. Residents showed up at Blooming Grove Town Hall in April to share their concerns at a recent meeting and discuss ways the project might be 'tweaked' to be more palatable, while officials discussed how the project has progressed in terms of meeting basic codes while they considered whether to allow it with a Special Use Permit.
"BG Family Storage" has been 'in the pipeline' for the Town of Blooming Grove for over 4 years. Recent concerns by some residents that the property owners could push to "flip" the project to one for housing set off a flurry to get the remaining project proposal details finished on a hastened timeline. The four main issues that continue to keep a cluster of nearby residents opposed are: 1. The size of the 2 strutures 2. Its location on the border of the Heritage Trail on one side, and a scenic farm with cattle pastures on the other. 3. A potentially dangerous entrance and exit situation with a narrow overpass at the entrance and exit on Trestle Tree Lane. 4. Craigville Road's history as one of the main entrances to the Town along a route with attractive upscale and some historic properties.
A dozen or so residents from the area came to speak at the joint session of the Town Board and Planning Board. These joint sessions serve to keep both boards on the same page and improve efficiency.
The benefits of the project include its status as a good tax rateable business with limited environmental impact other than potential visual. The traffic issue (right turn under the narrow Trestle) has been discussed for years and with both local and state DOT (Department of Transportation) officials, with the result that right turns would be restricted and signage would add safety at the overpass. The restricted turning would bring the truck traffic to and over the Route 17M overpass and to Route 17M, which could cause traffic congestion in either Chester or Monroe unless the trucks hopped right on 17M just West of Craigville, but would be much safer and community friendly than taking Craigville Road westward to Greycourt and thence to the Chester intersections which are also already subject to congestion. As far as impact on the "scenic view", that view has degraded steadily over the past 2 decades high tension lines and poles run through the fields, across Rt. 17M and up the hills on the Monroe side, leaving most of the remaining farm and cattle view...let's say "not that much to write home about aesthetically". However, locals still enjoy seeing existence of a clearly longtime farm still functioning along with the "moo-ing" of a dozen or so cows, especially at this time of the year when calves are munching the soft grass at the edge of the wetlands.
If, as seems likely, this project moves forward, what are the mitigations that could lesson the impact BOTH on the view of passers by along Craigville Road, and the View from Heritage Trail above? Landscaping, and plenty of it, could help. One speaker also suggested that the enormous buildings could be separated. Another described how as some NNI (Non-Nuisance Industrial parks; i.e. low impact non-toxic and non heavy manufacturing) make the best of the alternative by designing both the building and site as attractive as possible with earth-friendly colors, walking paths and picnic tables. Funding toward a better level of landscaping design might even be available from Orange County, given its view from high above on the Heritage Trail. Some commercial projects in semi-scenic areas even take 5-year performance bonds to ensure the landscaping is done at a high quality level, and the Blooming Grove Planning Board will have the ability to require those mitigations if they choose to.
It's important to note that unlike some other towns in the area, most of Blooming Grove's unincorporated land does not have a significant active Industrial Park. Some years ago this area was designated NNI by a previous Town Board, along with a potential NNI area on the former Camp LaGuardia property. With LaGuardia now slated to be a new County Park, the Town of Blooming Grove has limited alternative space to designate as commercial. With the other newest zoning change coming to the rustic Town Center around the corner from the Town Hall, which currently has the Town Post Office and dozen adjacent small businesses and strip mall, there is a new Sustainable Small Business Zone in the works. With the view being important and protected at that small intersection, there is no question that the public response (including mine as a farm owner 1/4 mile down the road) will all depend on design, layout and lots of landscaping. A top priority will be setback from the protected view, relatively low profile of structures, and a look that fits in with the historic character of all the surrounding buildings like the Historic "United Church of Christ", "Red Barn" and "Future Green ", a historic farm with a commercial component.
Blooming Grove residents have become increasingly involved in these kinds of commercial development decisions and are increasingly attending municipal meetings after the hiatus of COVID19. This engagement, especially in a large unincorporated area of town, are turning participation of residents in a spread out rural area into a new level of community cohesion, and if continud can help steer future growth in a way that still feels like home.
Stay tuned for an update after tonight's May 7 meeting.
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