'Gunks project has many foes
WALLKILL -- Colorful protesters and several hundred rancorous area residents
greeted the first detailed discussion of a controversial development on the
Shawangunk Ridge Thursday night at Wallkill High School.
The crowd was largely unconvinced by a 90-minute presentation on the
Awosting Reserve development by Chaffin/Light Associates. The presentation
explained the 18-month study that preceded the proposal, as well as the
firm's track record of creating ''conservation communities'' similar to the
349-home development and 296-acre golf course proposed for 2,660 acres in
the towns of Gardiner, Shawangunk and Wawarsing.
Town of Gardiner Supervisor Jack Hayes twice threatened to close the meeting
because of outbursts. And U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-Saugerties, whipped
the crowd into a loud minute long standing ovation after he denounced the
proposal as a ''sprawling, gated housing development'' that threatened the
''unique and irreplaceable resource.''
Presentation deliberate
The emotional response starkly contrasted the slow, deliberate presentation
by Chaffin/Light Associates and its contractors who pledged to protect the
''soul'' of Ulster County represented by the white-cliffed 'Gunks.
Their presentation laid out plans that would have little visual impact from
hiking trails on the ridge top because the line of sight overshoots the
ridge, and slightly greater impact from the valley. But that impact would be
reduced, they said, by strict design guidelines that would restrict the
amount of land cleared, buildings' height, lighting and the colors of
building materials.
The project would create as many as 70 permanent jobs, as well as hundreds
of construction jobs over 10 years. They argued the tax base of the town
would benefit because the community would provide its road, water and sewer
services, and that few children would attend schools because wealthy
second-home buyers will populate the development.
More than 1,400 acres of forest, while not in one contiguous block, would be
protected in two corridors of several hundred acres each. Jim Light,
co-founder of Chaffin/Light Associates, said the development is an
alternative to outright land protection because much of the 100,000 acres on
the ridge is in private ownership.
''Is it just possible that Awosting Reserve will be a better way to protect
66 percent of these 2,660 acres? We hope so,'' he said.
About 10 Rondout Valley High School students wore gaudy spoofs of golfing
garb and spoke in British accents. The golf course, deadpanned Clinton
Graybill, 14, would allow people to enjoy open space ''without the dangers
of hiking or small animals.''
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