Lanny Walter, who lives on Van Vlierden Road in Saugerties, told the Town Board at its regular meeting on Wednesday, March 22 that he passes an unsightly clearing at Carrelis and Harry Wells Roads — a development that he said is under John Mullen’s supervision. “If you go up there, you will see that there’s a red brick — you know, we all know there’s a building across the street from Grant D. Morse that’s been there forever; it’s a disaster and should be removed. However, as you face that building, there is a large piece of property that now is naked.” Walter described the location and size of the property, from which he said all trees have been removed.
Walter said he is raising the issue because, when he was on the Comprehensive Planning Committee some years ago, “We discussed amendments to the zoning law governing the destruction of trees. I don’t believe it was ever enacted. The basic concept was that the diameter of the tree — you could not just go in there and take down every tree.” Noting that Mullen owns some 42 acres, mainly behind the houses on Van Vlierden, argued that if the Board hasn’t adopted a law that covers decimation of trees, it should.
“Right now it’s as ugly as can be,” Walter said. “The Building Department tells me they can remove or cut down the trees, but they can’t remove the stumps. It was muddy and I didn’t want to walk onto other people’s property, but it sure didn’t look as if there were any stumps there.”
Developers should be able to take down trees up to a certain dimension, but for larger trees, the Tree Commission should be involved. The Commission was trying to plant and preserve trees, he argued, and it makes sense to have a law that protects trees.
In another matter, Walter referred to the recent train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. With the number of trains passing through Saugerties, some carrying chemicals, the Town could face a similar disaster at some time in the future. “I don’t park near the crossing; I wait further back until the train goes by, so when it blows up, maybe I have a shot at getting away. Whatever we can do, on the assumption that it could happen here and may well happen here, we should do.”
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