HIGHLAND, NY — A proposed $40 plus million project known as Camp FIMFO, which plans to turn existing Kittatinny Campgrounds into a destination camping resort in the Town of Highland, has been met with support from county stakeholders in economic development, opposition from environmental advocates, and sustained resistance from residents concerned of the effects of change the project could bring. 

The planning board has accepted a draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the project, and is now inviting public input as part of the official record. Comments can either be written and submitted to planningboardzba@townofhighlandny.com through January 10, 2025. The planning board may exercise discretionary authority to extend the timeframe of the public comment period or schedule subsequent hearing/s beyond the one held on December 18.

All comments made for the official record will become a part of the final project application and be considered in totality by the planning board member in determining the completion status of the DEIS and the project application status. 

How we got here

The project’s application for site plan approval proposes the redevelopment of Kittatinny Campgrounds, a family owned tenting facility. It proposes the addition of 148 park model RVs to be permanently installed and hooked up to water and sewer, in addition to the 64 additional permanently placed structures.

Sun NG Kittatinny RV, LLC, the corporate entity behind the Camp FIMFO development, is a subsidiary of Sun Communities, a publicly traded real estate trust that invests in manufactured housing communities, recreational vehicle communities and marinas. Approval from the planning board stands between Camp FIMFO and proposed Kittatinny makeover becoming a reality. 

Read more about application representatives and the constraints of the planning board at bit.ly/TRR-2024-planning-projects.  

A long process

The application review for Camp FIMFO has been a long road, and has been before the planning board since March 2022.

With pressure from residents and community groups, the planning board triggered an enhanced State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) look for Camp FIMFO in September 2023, in a 3-2 vote. It gave that project a “positive declaration,” which means the planning board determined it could have a significant adverse effect on the environment. 

Camp FIMFO, was then obliged to prepare an EIS. Not all applications are subject to the additional EIS required by the SEQR process.

Delaware Riverkeeper Network

The Delaware Riverkeeper Network, a non-profit organization, has been advocating against the Camp FIMFO project application from the get go. 

The network’s leader, Maya K. van Rossum, has attended multiple Highland planning and town board meetings and publicly urged against the application’s progress, both on behalf of the organization and as a property owner in the Town of Highland. 

Van Rossum stated at the November Highland Town Board meeting that Camp FIMFO “is a massive project that’s going to inflict irreparable harm and have dramatic changes for the Town of Highland and for the river corridor.” 

The non-profit has sent out various petitions and calls to action at various stages in the application process. Most recently, with the impending public comment period and hearing, the Delaware Riverkeeper held an “online public comment strategy session” on December 12, “to learn more about the FIMFO proposal, the legal landscape, and how to effectively advocate during the public comment period.”

Prior, the network sent an email on November 15 with a call to action “to tell the Town of Highland to hold a fair public engagement process and protect the Delaware River!” The email asked people to request the extension of the public comment period and to add another two public hearings with a longer allotment for each public comment at the hearings. 

The network’s call to action also asks people to request that the town board “place a moratorium on development in the river corridor,” while the town finishes writing its updated comprehensive plan. The moratorium would temporarily prevent the project from moving forward. 

The organization states its vision is to achieve “clean water for the communities, both human and wild, that depend on the Delaware River and all its tributary streams.”

KNOW FIMFO

KNOW FIMFO, “a group of concerned residents from the Upper Delaware River region who want to educate the public about the facts and risks involved in the Northgate Resorts ‘Camp FIMFO’ project,” according to the website KNOWFIMFO.com, have been strongly opposed to the project at every step. 

The Facebook page re-posts Delaware Riverkeeper Network’s Camp FIMFO positions and actions and the website bullets reasons the project is a “risk” and poses “negative impacts” to the “river,” “quality of life” and the “local ecosystem.” The website’s homepage states:

“Despite what Northgate [Resorts] would have you believe, Camp FIMFO promises to be a heavily crowded and high-priced RV resort and water theme park with a mountain coaster, chlorine pools, and water slides, planned in a known flood zone alongside the Upper Delaware River and the Scenic Byway Route 97. (The construction of a mountain coaster was removed from the project.) 

At consequential planning board meetings, attendees have worn KNOW FIMFO pins and displayed other signage.

County economic agencies weigh in

The Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce has become the newest county agency to voice its support for Camp FIMFO, framing the project as a potential “economic driver” in an email titled a “Call to action” sent on Friday, December 13. The email, addressed to “Members & Community,” asked people to “bring a friend, family, or colleague who shares a passion for building a stronger Sullivan Catskills,” to an upcoming public hearing, scheduled for December 18. 

The email says the “project will bring much-needed upgrades to the property, enhancing its value as a key economic driver within the Town of Highland.” Attending the hearing, the email says, is “an exciting opportunity to contribute to the growth and prosperity of the Sullivan Catskills.” The email notes support for the project as an “invite that creates meaningful investment and jobs,” and public support could make “the final approval of the project a reality.” The email, signed by the chamber’s president and CEO Ashley Leavitt, says, “Together, we can help shape a brighter economic future for our region. 

Information on how to send a pre-drafted “letter of support” is also in the email. The letter of support says the “upgrades” and “modernizations” proposed by Camp FIMFO will build on the “rich tradition” of the existing Kittatinny campground and lays out key highlights of “the applicant’s community engagements and environmental efforts over the past four years.”

According to the chamber, “The Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. is here to assist, support, promote, and advocate on behalf of our member business community.” The organization states its mission is to be the uniting force for business in Sullivan County “uniting a culture of commerce” in our diverse county. 

Read the pre-drafted letter of support available from the https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:956ab747-4580-4a3a-8769-3c2deb10039b

Visit the chambers website: catskills.com/about-the-chamber/

The chamber joins the Sullivan County Partnership for Economic Development and the Sullivan County Visitors Assocation, who have testified to their approval of the project through earlier public hearings.

Visit riverreporter.com for coverage of the December 18 public hearing.