A public hearing on Catskill Terraces, a ten-lot subdivision on 89 acres proposed by HV Contemporary Homes, drew considerable criticism at a Town of Saugerties Planning Board meeting on Tuesday, August 17.
Many of the critics responded via Webex, as the meeting was conducted both live and online. However, the sound was conveyed via Planning Board Secretary Becky Bertorelli’s laptop computer, and some online participants complained of being unable to hear answers to their questions. In some cases, engineer Jeff Hogan stood close to Bertorelli’s table, at others Bertorelli sometimes repeated the answers to questions posed over the Internet.
Catskill Terraces would consist of large lots — between five and 15 acres. Portions of the lots would be constrained from clearing or development, providing privacy for each lot and maintaining the forested atmosphere, Hogan said. At earlier meetings, Hogan offered to allow board chairman Howard Post and board member Carole Furman to walk the property and identify trees they felt had to be preserved. They did not pick any specific trees.
Some of the neighbors criticized the road layout, saying the roads would be close to their homes and traffic could produce pollution. Hogan said the roads were moved on the latest version of the plan, which was not the one projected at the meeting, as the updates were still to be added. Others said the number of homes would increase traffic on Manorville and Ralph Vedder Roads, which access the property.
Despite owner Marica McKeel’s repeated statements that she would suggest designs of hers that were in the 2,000-square-foot range, several callers insisted that they could have huge McMansions as neighbors if the plan were approved. McKeel and Hogan both emphasized that constraints on the amount of each lot that could be built on would make siting a very large house difficult.
Large shaded areas on the map indicate forest land that is not to be cut down, either during the development process or after the lots are sold, Hogan said. The protected areas, roughly 51 acres, are more than half of the total of 89 acres in the property.
In response to a question, Hogan said the roads would not be town roads. The residents served by each of the roads would be parties to a road-maintenance agreement.
Some of the neighbors expressed concern that adding ten homes to the existing aquifer could cause their wells to dry up. Hogan responded that he has seen similar large-home projects, and none of them had posed threats to existing aquifers. Developers are required to show that their projects will not pose an undue burden to existing aquifers, Hogan added.
Many of the questions had to do with privacy and whether near neighbors could disturb the peace they expected when they built in the area. Hogan explained, in each case, where a proposed house site is planned and how far it is from them. He reiterated that screening is included on each lot to ensure the privacy of the purchaser and of neighbors.
One questioner, noting that the Village of Saugerties has regulations limiting work hours on construction jobs while the Town of Saugerties does not, asked what hours HV Contemporary Homes planned to have workers on the site. “I would like to know what are the work hours that are allowed? It could be long; there’s a lot of building going on in West Saugerties now,” the caller said. Hogan estimated that the work hours would be 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., noting that in general contractors work from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., but by the time they get to the site, it could be more like 8 a.m., Hogan said. They would not work weekends, he said, though he acknowledged that the law would allow it.
The question led to a discussion among questioners about how to get an ordinance in the town setting work hours; chairman Post stopped it, explaining that this is not something the Planning Board can legislate and is not relevant to the discussion of the HV Contemporary Homes project.
In response to a question about the wildlife in the area, Hogan said, “We have set aside over half the property for conservation; that’s more than I’ve seen in 30 years that I’ve been doing this.”
Because of possible environmental impacts, the project has been required to fill out an extended conservation analysis, but it does not appear to have a large enough impact to require a full-scale Environmental Impact Statement, Planning Board consultant Adriana Beltrani told a concerned resident who said she was worried about environmental impacts the project would have. “I know that the tributaries to the wetlands go to the reservoir of the town and the village that supplies water to thousands of people,” the questioner said. “Why would that not rise to a level — it doesn’t just impact the wells of the people who live there, but the thousands who live in the town and village of Saugerties.”
One questioner asserted that neighbors could be facing a 10,000 square-foot building with a swimming pool, but McKeel pointed out that with much of the lot reserved for green space, it would be difficult to site a very large house, much less a swimming pool, within the buildable area.
In response to a concern one homeowner raised about possible blasting and resulting damage to his well, which has produced abundant water for more than 60 years, attorney Michael Moriello said blasting is very strictly regulated and the liability to the developer and the blaster are responsible for remedying the situation. However, Moriello said that McKeel hoped no blasting would be necessary and is committed to using the minimum that would be absolutely necessary.
Another speaker praised the developer for her concern for endangered bats, but the streams are crossing areas for spotted salamanders, snapping turtles and other wildlife.
The Planning Board will consider the application further at its next meeting on September 21.
Starbucks approved, with conditions
A public hearing on a proposed Starbucks restaurant in the shopping center on Route 212 in Saugerties, which is still called the Grand Union Plaza, drew no speakers at the Town of Saugerties Planning Board meeting on Tuesday, August 17. The planners approved the design, but with some conditions to be met before final approval.
The proposed restaurant would be directly across the driveway into the plaza from the CVS pharmacy, said engineer Khattar Elmassalemah. It would have a separate entrance from the main body of the plaza. The plan shows a 2,400 square-foot building with a driveway that roughly circles it, with an outlet to the parking lot that serves the plaza.
The Planning Board overruled several of the suggested changes the Ulster County Planning Board recommended as many of them, such as sidewalks, had been added to the plans already.
Landscaping and some of the corporate paperwork still must be completed; the corporation will be involved in the final plans, Elmassalemah said.
— David Gordon
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