GARDINER -- Town planners reviewed a controversial housing development
Thursday night, raising issues with how developers have laid out hundreds of
homes that would dot one of the area's most notable landscapes.
Chaffin/Light Associates is seeking approval to build more than 300 homes
and a 296-acre golf course along 2,660 acres of the Shawangunk Ridge in the
towns of Gardiner, Shawangunk and Wawarsing.
So many homes are planned that the roads connecting them must be classified
as ''suburban'' not ''rural,'' said the planning board and a consultant.
That means the project must at least be redrawn to higher street standards,
planners said.
The massive subdivision has become a flash point for the debate between open
space preservation and owner's rights. The land is owned by John Atwater
Bradley, a partner in a Manhattan consulting firm. He splits his time
between New York City and Ulster County.
Previous meetings featured protesters, and petitions against the project
have circulated in the area. Thursday night's meeting at the Gardiner
firehouse was not a public hearing, yet more than 50 local residents watched
the proceedings.
''It's important that we restrain ourselves from development that could be
characterized as damaging to the environment and the scenery, to the water
supply, and to what we will leave our children,'' resident Samuel Cristler
said.
Confident in developers
Marion Kells, a former town supervisor, lives across the street from the
project site. She said she's interested, but not worried. Development is
inevitable. ''It's the way it goes,'' she said.
The Awosting Reserve team has a good reputation, and people have the right
to build on their property, Kells said. ''I don't think they're going to
poison our town."
Project representatives said they have adjusted their plans according to
recommendations from planner Jim Freiband.
There are fewer flag-shaped lots and plans for road grading have been
improved. Five homes have also been taken out of what was a 326-home block.
Planners want to see more evidence the planned wells will be sufficient.
They also want to hear what the county health department has to say about
the proposed central sewer system.
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/friday/localnews/stories/lo032103s10.shtml
