fbpx
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Sign up for Free Newsletter
  • Print Edition
    • Get Home Delivery
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Customer Support
    • Submit A News Tip
    • Where’s My Paper?
  • Manage HV1 Account
Hudson Valley One
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Log In
No Result
View All Result
Hudson Valley One
No Result
View All Result

New Paltz board seeks to map town’s environmentally sensitive areas

by Terence P. Ward
January 24, 2020
in General News
2
New Paltz board seeks to map town’s environmentally sensitive areas
(Illustration by Will Lytle)
(Illustration by Will Lytle)

New Paltz Environmental Conservation Board members wish to make the designation of critical environmental areas one of their first accomplishments in the new year.

The designation a mechanism under the State Environmental Quality Review [SEQR] act, and in an board document the rationale is laid out as follows:

“The purpose of the designation is to alert landowners, developers and regulatory agencies to the features of concern so that harm to important areas can be minimized, or environmental hazards can be avoided. [Designation] helps to formalize awareness about important resources that might otherwise be overlooked and ensure that they are considered in determining the significance of a proposed action during SEQR.”

Many types of projects would not be affected by being in a critical environmental area. One- and two-family homes and smaller work is not reviewed at the Planning Board at all. Projects that are designated “type 2” for environmental review purposes don’t need additional studies, and likewise would not be subject to more scrutiny. Larger projects, which already tend to get a lot of public involvement, could be affected, but the thinking is that this would give developers earlier notice about potential areas of controversy and allow them to give thought to addressing those concerns earlier in the process. The notice would result from completing an online environmental assessment form.

Six different areas are proposed for the designation, representing riparian, wetland and forested areas. They trace the Wallkill and Kleine Kill, the Swarte Kill and Plutarch wetlands and the large forest tracts of Plutarch, Clearwater and Stony Kill. The Shawangunk Ridge is also included.

Board members suggested asking Planning Board members for feedback, including how many projects a year might be impacted, but they also set a public hearing for February 6 for approving the map.

Ingrid Haeckel also provided a summary of what work the volunteers did last year. Nine Planning Board projects were reviewed, some of them “multiple times,” and members went on five site visits pursuant to that work. The town tree law is under their auspices to administer, but it’s not used often and Haeckel said that it has “shortcomings.”

Research into a variety of questions has also been par for the course, and Haeckel mentioned digging into the state plastic bag ban as being particularly “frustrating” due to the “lack of clarity” in its implementation. The law in the village doesn’t allow single-use bags at nearly any business, but the new state law exempts restaurants and taverns. Given the density of restaurants and bars in the village, that’s a big hit, and Haeckel said it took some time to confirm that home-rule rights don’t apply here, meaning that state law preempts the more restrictive village code.

They have worked to work ever more closely alongside their Planning Board colleagues, with a member attending nearly every Planning Board meeting, and Planning Board vice chair Amanda Gotto returning the favor. Most EnCB members are somewhat new, and they are considering taking some of the training available to Planning Board members to deepen their understanding of their role.

Thank you for reading Hudson Valley One. We rely on your support to continue providing local, substantive news. Please check out our subscription options to keep local journalism alive in the Hudson Valley.
- Geddy Sveikauskas, Publisher
Previous Post

Highland Elementary School welcomes new assistant principal

Next Post

A big new tenant for the Hudson Valley Mall?

Terence P. Ward

Terence P Ward resides in New Paltz, where he reports on local events, writes books about religious minorities, tends a wild garden and communes with cats.

Related Posts

Groundbreaking at the McKinstry Bridge in Gardiner
General News

Groundbreaking at the McKinstry Bridge in Gardiner

May 24, 2022
Eating order executed in New Paltz
General News

Eating order executed in New Paltz

May 22, 2022
Jeff Collins is the new president of Woodstock Library Board
General News

Despite Collins’ arrest, Library Board votes to keep its president

May 20, 2022
Assault charges, unlawful use of equipment roil the West Hurley Fire District
General News

New Paltz Firehouse space to be put on market

May 20, 2022
Movie Nights on Bannerman Island
General News

State supports support groups

May 19, 2022
Leaders gather at New Paltz Firehouse to endorse Climate Act Scoping Plan
Environment

Leaders gather at New Paltz Firehouse to endorse Climate Act Scoping Plan

May 16, 2022
Next Post
The mall’s only hope

A big new tenant for the Hudson Valley Mall?

Please login to join discussion

Trending News

  • Local therapists provide uninterrupted free care to foster-care kids 2.7k views
  • Eating order executed in New Paltz 1k views
  • Uproar in New Paltz over plan to abandon green electricity 871 views
  • Village of Saugerties planners hold public hearing for Dragon Inn 651 views
  • Hapag Kainan in Highland offers Filipino culinary delights 598 views







Latest HV1 Podcast

Weather

Kingston
◉
61°
Partly Cloudy
5:27am8:18pm EDT
Feels like: 61°F
Wind: 5mph NE
Humidity: 50%
Pressure: 30.31"Hg
UV index: 3
WedThuFri
77/50°F
73/61°F
81/64°F
Weather forecast Kingston, New York ▸

Ulster County COVID-19 Active Cases

Subscribe

Independent. Local. Substantive. Subscribe now.

  • Subscribe & Support
  • Sign up for Free Newsletter
  • Print Edition
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
  • Manage HV1 Account

© 2022 Ulster Publishing

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Contact Us
    • Customer Support
    • Advertise
    • Submit A News Tip
  • Print Edition
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
    • Where’s My Paper
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Log In

© 2022 Ulster Publishing