Winston Farm hearing in Saugerties draws mixed reviews
by David Gordon
Opinions at a public hearing on Winston Farm’s scoping document ranged from outright opposition to full support, with many speakers in between asking that more detailed information be included in the document. The hearing was held by the Saugerties Town Board at the Frank D. Greco Memorial Senior Center — a session that drew close to 200 people.
Supervisor Fred Costello opened the hearing with an observation about Winston Farm. “Every 15 or 20 years, someone comes along with a proposal that the community does not like and the community comes out, and we rally and we support the opposition to the project. I think this has served us well.”
However, Costello believes that this project is different because the owners — Randy Richers, John Mullen and Tony Montano — live in Saugerties and have a record of being interested and caring citizens.
The Winston Farm project is a multifaceted development on land adjacent to Exit 20 off the New York State Thruway that once served as the site for Woodstock ’94. The project as currently proposed could include single- and multi-family housing, a job incubator, public multi-use trails, camping and an amphitheater.
Costello said that in order to develop a project that meets the community’s needs, the scoping document will be refined based on the comments at the hearing. The document will also guide the studies that need to be done, such as water, open space, traffic, wildlife habitat and others that may be identified during the scoping session. Links to the document that are now on file can be found on the Town of Saugerties website.
“Fundamental change”
Emily Svenson, an environmental attorney speaking for Catskill Mountainkeeper, said the proposal “represents a fundamental change in the Town of Saugerties. It would add a development as large as the existing village and replace 800 acres of forest and a stream corridor with hundreds of acres of paved surfaces and buildings.” Mountainkeeper has focused mainly on water resources and wildlife habitat and has given the town and developers reports by experts on these issues.
The wells on the property will need to be studied to determine how much groundwater can be taken without affecting neighbors. The village’s test sites showed a yield of 361 gallons per day, “which our report suggests is an overestimate,” Svenson said. Even if the estimate is accurate, the development predicts water usage at 500,000 gallons per day, meaning that Winston Farm would draw from the village supply, not add to it. Wildlife habitat consists of the large area of unbroken forest, rocky areas that are habitat to rare plants and animals, two large meadows and extensive wetlands. The property also includes a significant section of the Beaverkill, which is home to many species, including rare and endangered wood turtles, Svenson said. She also named the many bird species that inhabit the property.
“Much of the value of ecosystems on the property is in their sheer size, large forest blocks and meadows that provide critical habitat. These large forest blocks must be mapped and protected,” she said, and called on the Town Board to require delineation of open space. The plan does not delineate open space and the proposed zoning does not include open space requirements, she said. “We recommend 27 percent development and 73 percent open space. SEQR [State Environmental Quality Review] requires an analysis of alternatives and we suggest that a balanced space alternative should be produced by looking at the areas of the site where development will impose the least impact on various resources.”
David Brennan, attorney for the developers, said there are areas of agreement between the developers and the issues raised by Svenson, “including the need for a thorough analysis and study of this project.”
The developers have provided a map showing what could be the whole buildout, Brennan said. “That is a requirement of the state regulation, to allow a study of the maximum potential impact, not a presentation of each thing in each location, but an indication of what could be built under the proposed zoning. Over the next months, as the project is further discussed, it is possible that all of those elements may not be built.”
Benefits for the community
John Eickman said he agrees with Costello that “this will have extraordinary benefits for the community while still providing benefits to the owners.” Eickman stressed that the owners are part of the community, who are well known and have a track record, and they care. “We have identified several environmental issues. I think we can depend upon the town and the developers to identify other issues and deal with them professionally,” he said.
Mike Oates, the CEO of the Hudson Valley Development Corporation, which is also a partner of Ulster Strong, said Winston Farm has been seen as the prime site for development in the county. “In 2008, we did a study that identified Winston Farm as the top site in the Hudson Valley for high-tech development, he said. “What needs to be considered is “the transformational nature of this project for the Hudson Valley, and certainly for the upper Hudson Valley.” The project will bring needed jobs and housing to the area. “The owners are committed to seeing a successful development; they have strong ties to the community and they want to see things done in the right manner.”
Mixed reviews
On the other hand, Marjory Greenberg-Vaughn said she has serious concerns regarding the project. She described the scoping document as “vague,” she said it should quantify all the costs to the neighbors and the town of the proposed project. “It should specify who will have the responsibility and where all the needed funds will come from for repairs and remediation. This is the only way to ensure clarity to the vague scoping document as written.” In particular, she stressed the possible pollution of the aquifer Saugerties depends on for its water supply. Once water is polluted, there is no cure, she said, and the result will be a drastic reduction in property values in Saugerties because no one wants to buy a house with polluted water.
Arabella Colton said the problem of development of Winston Farm can be summarized under one topic, climate change. “Our planet is on its way to becoming unlivable,” she said. “This past summer of world-wide calamities was just a foretaste.” Specifically in Winston Farm, 275 acres of temperate forest. The total 800 acres is habitat for threatened wildlife and a natural carbon sink.” Colton called on the Town Board to reject the project and call on the owners to donate Winston Farm as a nature preserve or “to sell it to those who would preserve it, and we can raise the money.”
For Joe Hudson, the main issue is water. “On days of peak use, our reservoir is already being taxed to nearly its upper limit,” he said. “First and foremost we need to deal with our water problem now, before we give a green light to the largest single development in the history of Saugerties and even Ulster County for that matter.” Hudson suggested a long-term study of water sources and needs for the long term and putting development on hold until this is done.
While the project may appear to have some benefits, in the long term it creates more problems, even for the developers, said Sarah Lesher. “It will hurt even those who seem to benefit economically with jobs, because it is literally tearing up the delicate fabric that all our lives depend on. It affects the health and well being of everyone, even those who derive economic benefits from it.”
She said that while the scoping document has many individual items like scenery, vegetation, water, wildlife habitat, forests and even ecosystems, it doesn’t address the interaction of various kinds of ecosystems. All these ecosystems must work synergistically. Soils are damaged by any disturbance, which is why no till farming practices are favored. Disturbance “alters the physical and chemical structure of the soil.”
Danny Melnick, the owner of a music tour and production company called “Absolutely Live,” said that he has produced music festivals around the world for more than 30 years, “and if anyone should be excited about an amphitheater in this area it is me; but I am not. Amphitheaters are huge; they accommodate thousands of people, and this is how our two amphitheaters, SPAC and Bethel Woods are designed. They must have parking lots many times larger than the amphitheaters themselves.” An amphitheater would bring in thousands of cars, as well as trucks and buses idling on Route 212 and Route 32, as well as sanitation and other service trucks entering and exiting the site. In addition, “sound checks and concerts can be heard almost a mile away. I have never worked at an amphitheater anywhere in the world situated in a residential community.”
Speaking for the Saugerties Citizens Advisory Commission (CAC), Mike Harkavy said the commission’s job will be to follow the process of review of the project, and would have more to say as it develops. But for the scoping meeting, he offered two of the committee’s points: “The CAC finds that the draft scope is vague, general in nature, not specific. The draft scope does not include required specific study, data and information to identify potential impacts.” The CAC also recommends that the scoping document be made available to the CAC and the public with sufficient time for review by the CAC before it is adopted by the Town Board. In order to conduct a thorough review, the CAC suggests that the Town Board request a waiver of the 60-day requirement for a decision.
Meagan Bianco, representing Ulster Smart, said the project is developed by “three local guys who have been stewards in our community, people who have raised their families here and have nothing but deep respect for the land they call home.” They are working to develop the land “for the best use of this generation and generations to follow and to engage our community in the discussion of what the best use of this land would be,” she said. “Let us not let fear of the unknown shake us from this important conversation.” She challenged her listeners to consider the great positive impact the project has “rather than a host of what ifs and fear.”
Suzanne Bennett, the Director of Shout Out Saugerties said the community “has a chance to turn a contentious plan into a shared, positive vision.” She proposed bringing together “a consortium of creative people, architects, landscapers, artists and professionals in community engagement” to envision a site plan “that fits in with the historic character of the land, town and region.” Working with experts in soils, water and other environmental factors, the group would develop such ideas as use of sustainable materials in all construction, clean energy, a community garden, shared composting and studios, public art and other amenities and natural enhancements. This kind of development would likely attract state and federal funding, she said.
Raleigh Green cited several publications that have run articles about a housing emergency. One-bedroom apartments in Saugerties are advertised at $1,500 a month; that averages out to $18,000 a year. “The average salary in Ulster County is $40,000. That doesn’t leave you very much. We have a housing crisis in Ulster County.” As the planning goes forward, Green asked that housing be an important part of the discussion. “I also care about environmental conservation and the protection of pristine areas.” The proposed development does set aside green space. “But bear in mind that Ulster County has 50 percent of its territory in forever protected status of one kind or another. We need to find a balance, to find a reasonable balance between open space and housing for today and tomorrow’s children.”
