Bethel sets zoning public hearing

Golf course zoning adjusted

By FRITZ MAYER

KAUNEONGA LAKE, NY — The Bethel board passed several resolutions at the meeting on March 12, in preparation for taking the draft generic environmental impact statements (DGEIS) to the public. Some of the resolutions passed during the meeting involved non-controversial changes in language, but one change regarding the old golf course property in Smallwood may spark controversy in the future.

Originally, the board had proposed splitting the golf course in half, with the northern portion to be zoned rural development (RD), which would have allowed new homes to be built on lots of two acres each or larger. The southern part of the course was to be zoned forest conservation (FC), which would have allowed new houses to be built on at least five acres.

Members of Preserve Smallwood Country Life (PSCL) had been advocating that the entire property be placed in the FC district. Likewise Tracy Carluccio, deputy director of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, who has sent several letters regarding the golf course, sent a new one urging that the entire parcel be zoned FC. The letter said that uses that are permitted in RD zones, if developed in the northern part of the golf course, would lead to degradation of the White Lake and Lybolt brooks that run into the Mongaup River and the Upper Delaware River, and RD development, in general, would degrade the environmentally sensitive site. She also argued that these negative impacts could not be mitigated by site-specific reviews as had been suggested by the town attorney, Rob McEwan, at a previous meeting.

After supervisor Dan Sturm read the letter, the board voted to change the proposed zoning designation for the entire golf course property to FC.

PSCL later released a statement that said, “We are pleased with this result. PSCL compliments supervisor Sturm and the town board for their willingness to consider our comments and suggestions.”

PSCL has been specifically concerned with developer Robert Van Zandt, who proposed building 200 town houses on the golf course property in 2006, and has since been at odds with town officials over the creation of an oversized driveway and gate onto the property.

The town has blocked the townhouse proposal, and it is not clear what Van Zandt’s intentions for the property might now be. But he is clearly following developments. At the meeting, Elizabeth Cassidy, an attorney with Jacobowitz and Gubits, spoke for Van Zandt and said that any proposals he had put forward “have been located away from the wetland part of the property and the buffer required by the Department of Environmental Conservation.” She also said, “We’re looking to actively participate in the public hearing process.” The public hearing on the DGEIS will be held on April 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the Bethel Senior Center.

More waves from Toronto

The matter of the water levels at the Toronto Reservoir was also once again up for discussion at the meeting. A letter from Jason Boniface, who identified himself as a sportsman, was read into the record.

It said, “The near total drainage of the reservoir has severely affected me and my fellow sportsmen, making recreational use of the reservoir impossible for much of the year. Alliance Energy Renewables has lowered levels rapidly, without warning, for no obvious reason, destroying recreational opportunities in the short run and destroying fish hatcheries by killing millions of eggs with the rapidly changing water levels. Unless the outflow from Toronto is stopped immediately, it is not certain that the reservoir will be usable by the spring and summer recreational season.”

The letter urged the board to take action to force Alliance to raise the reservoir level. The letter was copied to numerous public officials and also to Homeowners on Toronto (HOOT). HOOT was identified as a group who had recently organized and hired a lawyer to represent them in the matter regarding water levels.