Plan for luxury housing hits roadblock
By Jesse J. Smith, Daily Freeman
Tuesday, October 2, 2003

GARDINER - Plans for a 350-unit luxury housing development on the Shawangunk Ridge have suffered a setback: the determination by town officials that zoning codes prohibit the formation of a sewer district to support the proposed Awosting Reserve.

Gardiner Supervisor Jack Hayes said the determination was reached by the town's zoning and building inspector, Don Otis. Otis, working closely with Hayes, said a sewer district can be established only in the town's light industrial zone, which does not include the proposed site of the housing development.

The determination cites a section of the town zoning law that states the code is intended to "preserve the natural beauty of the town and to assure appropriate development with regard to these natural features." The determination, Hayes said, would severely restrict the number of units that could be built as part of the cluster development proposed for Awosting Reserve.

Hayes said he and Otis "wanted to use the strictest and most conservative form of interpretation (of zoning codes) ... to preserve that location."

New Paltz resident Amy Little, who has fought against the proposed development as coordinator of the Shawangunk Ridge Coalition, said last week's ruling merely confirms what Awosting opponents have said all along.

"For us, this is not news," Little said. "We're glad (the town) is finally coming around to the truth."

Little added that the determination should send a strong signal that the development would never be accepted in Gardiner.

"It's obvious," she said. "The writing is on the wall that the land should be protected, and (Awosting Reserve's) owners, developers and investors should see that."

Little and other opponents of the Awosting development contend a sewer district on the Shawangunk Ridge would compromise drinking water in the area and harm the environment in the adjacent Minnewaska State Park.

Awosting Reserve's "plan from the beginning was a flawed plan," Little said. "They tried to get around the law to build something that just wouldn't work in that location."

Awosting Reserve President Roger Beck disputes claims by Little and other opponents that the project would harm the environment.

"Awosting Reserve is an environmentally sensitive project for an environmentally sensitive location," he said, adding that the company will take its case to the town Zoning Board of Appeals, from which he expects a fair hearing.

Beck contends that the sections of the code cited in last week's determination do not conform to county and state laws and create an ambiguity that should invalidate the decision.

Hayes said that, under the principles of home rule that govern New York state, the town was within its rights to institute more restrictive zoning laws than those found at higher levels of government. Hayes also said Awosting Reserve can count on a fair hearing and that last week's determination does not represent the town's bowing to pressure from opponents of the project.

"I'm trying very hard not to single out this development," he said. "They have the same rights as any other applicant."

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