The state Department of Environmental Conservation ruled the town of Ulster should be lead agency for environmental review of the proposed Zena Homes 30-lot housing development at the end of Eastwoods Drive.
While the developers convinced the town of Ulster to declare itself lead agency under the State Environmental Quality Review Act, the town of Woodstock made the case for leadership because the only access is through a Woodstock road.
But DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton said Woodstock’s planning board doesn’t meet the criteria. When two parties declare themselves the lead agency, the DEC commissioner serves as the final arbiter.
“This designation does not change or diminish the responsibilities of Woodstock or other involved agencies with jurisdiction over components of the project,” Lefton wrote in her Oct. 29 decision.
“In designating Ulster as lead agency, I remind it to be aware of any potential impacts already identified by Woodstock during this lead agency dispute, or which may be identified during the forthcoming environmental review,” she wrote.
“I am therefore expecting Ulster to solicit and carefully consider the views of all other involved agencies, including the Woodstock planning board, as required by SEQR.”
When settling a lead agency dispute, the DEC must determine whether the anticipated impacts of the action are statewide, regional or local; which agency has the broadest governmental powers to investigate the impacts; and which agency has the greatest capability to provide the most thorough environmental assessment.
Lefton ruled the impacts will be primarily local, so neither party is favored in that criterion. In the town of Ulster, impacts include tree clearing and concerns about wells and septic systems. Woodstock has argued traffic is a primary concern, as are adverse effects on emergency response since Woodstock will likely be the closest and quickest. Also impacted is the 210-acre Israel Whitman Sanctuary and the Zena Woods Critical Environmental Area.
On the second criterion, Lefton ruled Woodstock’s jurisdiction is limited to the access road improvements.
“While both planning boards have site plan review authority, almost the entirety of the project is located within the territorial limits of Ulster, not Woodstock,” Lefton wrote.
“Conversely, Woodstock’s jurisdiction here is limited to review of the access road improvements—assuring that it is built to town specifications and associated approvals for potential wetland and watercourse impacts from these improvements.”
On the third criterion, Lefton said both towns have the ability to conduct an environmental review, either through staff or a consultant, so there is no distinction.
The 30-lot subdivision is a far cry from the 190-plus homes, 18-hole professional golf course and helipad spanning Woodstock and Ulster originally proposed by the developers under the name Woodstock National, but it still faces opposition by a dedicated group called Stop Zena Development, which has cited numerous traffic and environmental concerns.
The developers say they have no current plans to develop the 500-plus acres in Woodstock and are focusing on the 106 acres in Ulster.
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