With only one person testifying on plans to subdivide the property at 525 Albany Post Road in New Paltz one last time to allow for an additional house, it appears that this application will be approved as soon as is practicable. Invited to weigh in on issues such as habitat degradation, requiring native plants over alien ornamental species and setting limits on clearing, Town of New Paltz Planning Board members were more interested in encouraging the applicant to ask for a waiver of a requirement to build sidewalks than they were in discussing any of suggestions made during the public hearing.
In any case, slicing this 34-acre parcel in half now would be the last time that additional lot lines can be drawn in thanks to an agreement made by property owner Mark Albrecht upon purchasing the property in 2003. Albrecht explained at the February 22 town Planning Board meeting that the specific way this line was drawn was intended to preserve the most agricultural land, something that the applicant believes is consistent with the town’s open space plan and, as such, with the wishes of community members. At that time, members of the Environmental Conservation Board noted that moving the new house site closer to the road would provide a number of environmental benefits such as limiting habitat fragmentation — considered one of the most serious environmental threats in New Paltz — and making storm water runoff more manageable. Albrecht, however, signaled a preference at the time for preserving the aesthetics of not being able to see the new house from the road. At the May 10 meeting Albrecht seemed ready to revisit the house location to reduce the length of the driveway needed as well as lessen the disturbance from construction, but after board attorney Rich Golden indicated that moving the house location would require modifying the plan, Albrecht didn’t say anything more.
The public hearing on this application was opened and closed on May 10, and only Dan Schniedewind had anything to say; those comments also were focused on impacts to the non-human environment. Also referencing the town’s open space plan, Schniedewind asked that the landscaping plan draw on native plant species rather than ornamental plants that evolved far away. Schniedewind would like to see the footprint of the new house, as well as the area disturbed for construction, reduced as per state-level storm water management criteria. The area cleared around the house — even for an old-fashioned lawn — should be minimized to reduce the amount of damage done to the Stony Kill woods for this project. Schniedewind’s comments reflect a common sentiment raised at these meetings, that chipping away at the edges of wildlife habitat is no better for the planet in the long run than flattening it with a bulldozer.
Adele Ruger, chair of the board, asked if any members wanted to discuss what Schniedewind had to say. The response was silence.
Board member Lyle Nolan, however, was quite focused on ensuring that Albrecht ask for all possible waivers to zoning code requirements, naming sidewalks in particular. The town’s subdivision code does include a requirement that sidewalks be built whenever land is subdivided, but this can be waived with a vote of the Planning Board. It’s not clear if any sidewalks have ever been constructed in the town under this decades-old law, as waiving of the requirement is routine and sometimes, as in this case, requesting such a waiver is actively encouraged. “I encourage them to ask for a waiver,” Nolan said.
Approval for this subdivision was not able to be immediately granted, as more data is needed about the archaeological value of the site first. It appears likely that approval will come as soon as board members are allowed to grant it.
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