GARDINER - The Town Board is preparing to adopt a six-month moratorium on residential subdivisions along a section of the Shawangunk Ridge, the site of a fierce battle between local residents and developers of a proposed luxury housing development.
The proposed moratorium, up for a vote on Sept. 13, would temporarily bar the approval of residential subdivisions of three or more lots in the town's ARR200 (agricultural, recreational, residential) zone, which encompasses the ridge.
Town Supervisor Carl Zatz said the moratorium is designed to allow planners to revise zoning laws in phases so that town-wide development would not be stymied during the process. Once revisions to the ARR200 zone are complete, he said, other zone-specific moratoriums could be put in place, allowing planners to work on one section of the community without inconveniencing others.
"I think it reflects a very good strategy to not go town-wide (with the moratorium)," said Zatz. "We're learning from the mistakes of other towns. You can drill down to the problem areas and work on those first."
The zoning code revisions are intended to reflect a new town master plan that calls for substantial zoning changes to protect the ridge from over-development. According to a statement of findings and purpose attached to the proposed moratorium, the ridge helps recharge the town's aquifers, serves as a biodiversity corridor and boosts the tourist economy. The law goes on to state that, under current zoning regulations, an additional 377 homes could be built on the ridge, which is identified as "the most environmentally sensitive area of town."
Concern over development in the ARR200 zone peaked with a proposal by developers Chaffin-Light to build a 350-unit subdivision on a 3,000-acre parcel at the foot the ridge. In February, the town's Zoning Board of Appeals dealt a serious setback to developers when it ruled that the town code did not allow for the construction of a sewage treatment plant to serve the subdivision. That ruling is currently under appeal in state Supreme Court.
Landowner John Bradley, meanwhile, is in court trying to fire Chaffin-Light, which he brought on board to develop an ecologically friendly community on the parcel, which is adjacent to Minnewaska State Park. In May, Bradley said he planned to hire a new set of experts to develop a much smaller project on the site.
Town Councilwoman Nadine Lemmon, elected last year after helping to lead the fight against the Awosting Reserve project, said the project was just one part of a rising tide of development that threatens the ridge.
"The driving force was that we really got a flood of development in the area, even before 9/11," she said. "It became clear that we had to do something. Development will be able to happen on the ridge, we just need to find a way to make it low-impact."
