Safety dominated discussion of the proposed Zena Homes 30-lot subdivision at the August 21 Woodstock Planning Board meeting, as officials questioned whether a single narrow access road could serve as the only entry and exit.
Town traffic consultant Stephan Maffia said the road was “far beyond the length that a single fire access road is acceptable.” Fire codes generally require either a second access road or compensating safety measures, such as sprinklers, when a subdivision has only one way in or out. The concern is that if a fire or other emergency blocks the road, residents and emergency vehicles could become trapped, leaving sprinklers as the last line of defense to suppress flames until responders arrive.
Maffia told the board that developers would need either to build a second access road or widen the existing one to more than 20 feet and install sprinkler systems in every home.
Zena Development LLC attorney Alec Gladd asked the board to consider granting a waiver on the road-length requirement so the sprinklers would not be necessary. “Sprinkling the homes has an added cost to it,” Gladd said, noting that a waiver decision could determine whether the project requires major redesign. “If we do have to build the secondary access road, then basically every report that we’ve submitted except for the traffic report would have to be updated to account for that additional impact.”
Planning attorney John Lyons cautioned that it was too early in the process to make such decisions and said the environmental review could change the design.
Board members also raised questions about emergency response, since the subdivision lies in the Town of Ulster but would be accessed through Woodstock. Gladd said Ulster County 911 routes calls to the proper jurisdiction, with Ruby Fire handling responses in this case, though interdepartmental agreements sometimes determine the fastest responder. Planning secretary Melissa Gray added that such agreements are often put in place for larger developments.
Amphibian rights
The town’s environmental consultant, Erik Kiviat of Hudsonia Ltd., said the developers’ environmental assessment omitted key issues. He pointed to amphibian crossings along Zena Highwoods Road, which will see heavier traffic, and highlighted two high-quality wetlands near the proposed entrance road that could support rare plants and animals. He also noted that a bald eagle nest has shifted from Sawkill Road to just east of Zena Highwoods Road, an issue he said remains unaddressed.
A decision is still pending from the state Department of Environmental Conservation on which agency will lead the environmental review. The Ulster County Planning Board has declared its intention to take the role, while the Woodstock Planning Board argues it should be lead agency because the subdivision’s only access road is in Woodstock.
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