Woodstock Town Supervisor Anula Courtis urged the Town of Ulster to have an in-person dialogue about the proposed Zena Woods housing subdivision before any decision is made.
The town has some public safety concerns “that are real and have not been discussed town-to-town,” Courtis said during the public comment period of the May 21 Ulster Town Board meeting.
“So I’ll give you a little bit of an example. In places, Eastwoods Drive is about 13 1/2 feet, and that’s not really a minor detail. It matters when we start talking about fire trucks, EMS, running into a school bus on that little road. We’ve got folks walking their dogs,” she said.
Courtis noted the development may need to form a special fire protection district because it is only accessible through the town of Woodstock.
“And that really affects who’s going to respond and how long it’s going to take for somebody to get to someone who may be having a heart attack. Who’s going to pay for that? How much are they going to pay for it?” she asked.
“So these are issues that I want to bring before you, and this is not really something that we can handle by email or on paper,” she said.
“This is something that I am respectfully asking this board to direct the appropriate people to open formal dialogue with Woodstock. It’s gone on for too long where we’re not talking, and that should happen immediately with my office and our planning board.”
Woodstock Land Conservancy president Patty Goodwin said the information on the project has been one-sided. WLC has interest because its largest preserve, the Israel Whitman Sanctuary, borders it.
“We are shocked and disturbed that your planning board has not considered information from anyone but the developers, no public hearing, no consultation with Woodstock, even though most of their land is in Woodstock in a designated critical environmental area,” Goodwin said.
Stop Zena Development co-chair Zoe Keller asked the town of Ulster to hold a public hearing before its planning board makes an expected determination of no significant environmental impact.
“I believe that Ulster and Woodstock subdivision regulations exist for a reason, to keep our neighbors and our first responders safe, and that these rules, as well as the rules of the SEQRA process, should apply equally to everyone, even to people who can afford an ever-expanding team of lawyers,” she said.
“As a Woodstock native and KHS grad struggling to afford my first home, I am not categorically opposed to development, but in order to solve our housing crisis, I believe we must prioritize the construction of affordable and accessibly priced housing units that are strategically placed to provide residents with access to community resources, while preserving our rural community character,” she said.
“We do not need more $1 million to $5 million vacation houses.”
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