WHITE LAKE, NY — Before a shovel goes in the ground, every aspect of a project’s impact on its surroundings has to be considered. 

The Bethel Planning Board heard experts talk about the effect of White Lake Estates, a 35-suite hotel proposed at the intersection of Route 17B and Mattison Road. The board heard from a traffic expert and a hydrologist about their proposed studies of the project. 

Questions came up about both areas of study. While the project’s representatives had answers, rumblings from the public in attendance indicated that the answers didn’t satisfy everyone. 

Traffic study

The planning board met on  August 7 to consider White Lake Estates, among other applications. 

Starke Hipp, an engineer specializing in traffic 

analysis with Creighton Manning Engineering, told the board about a traffic study in progress for the project. 

The White Lake Estates project team took readings at three intersections: 17B and Route 55 North, 17B and Route 55 South and 17B and Mattison Road. The team collected data at these intersections on Friday, June 30 and on Sunday, July 2, aiming to capture traffic at a relatively busy time, said Hipp. 

While the team has yet to finalize the study, Hipp said it planned to consider the proposed traffic from White Lake Mansion, another development project just down the road. 

White Lake Mansion will be a 70-suite hotel complex if approved. It’s currently working through the same permitting process as the White Lake Estates. 

While the two projects are proposed by different developers, the two share some similarities beyond the purely geographic: both are proposed hotels, both are represented by attorney Jacob Billig and both (according to project documents) coordinated on their traffic studies. 

The equipment used in the study may have encountered issues. Jim Crowley, planning board chairman, showed Hipp photos taken on the morning of July 3, showing some of the traffic counter strips not all the way across the road. 

The project team had other equipment beyond what was shown out of place, and the photos showed a time after the readings took place, said Hipp. He said the team would consider it if it encountered any anomalous data. 

Hydrology

Paul Rubin, a hydrologist with Hydroquest, spoke with the board about the testing planned for the site’s water supply. 

The project will have two production wells on the property to meet its water needs, and will be connected to the Town of Bethel sewer system for its sewer needs. The wells had been verbally approved by the NYS Department of Health, said Rubin, and full approval was expected shortly. 

Crowley pressed Rubin on a specific topic, referencing questions about the White Lake watershed raised by the public at earlier points of the review process.

While Crowley’s phrasing of the question was vague—Crowley admitted to a lack of familiarity with the watershed—board member Steve Simpson clarified it and asked about a boundary map for the watershed.

Every area had a watershed, responded Rubin, and it would be simple to delineate this site’s watershed. 

Billig rephrased the question as one about regulations, saying that there weren’t any regulations governing the White Lake watershed which could affect the project. 

Community response

Organized groups of the public, including Smallwood Aware Residents Team (SmART) and the Lake Association of White Lake (LAWL) have talked with state officials about protecting the watershed. 

Development projects increase the amount of impervious surface in the area—the roads, buildings and other improvements which repel, rather than absorb, water and other substances. These impervious surfaces lead to increased stormwater runoff, directing chemicals into the lake and causing harmful algae blooms and other effects. 

The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) recommends that no more than 25 percent of the land within a watershed be developed, according to community groups. The White Lake watershed is at 30 percent already, leading these groups to raise concerns about the further development in projects such as White Lake Mansion and White Lake Estates. 

A letter from LAWL president Andrew Klebanow reads, in part, “Current zoning laws and strategic development plans do not incorporate guidelines specifically designed to safeguard the White Lake watershed… we implore the planning board to pause the approval process for any large commercial projects that could potentially have a detrimental impact on the water quality of White Lake until a comprehensive environmental study, which includes consideration of the potential impact to the lake from developments within the watershed, can be conducted.”

These groups have raised concerns about traffic levels associated with the project as well. Both projects sit within the heart of White Lake’s commercial district, just beyond the entrance to the residential neighborhood of Smallwood; increased traffic in both areas has both SmART and LAWL concerned. 

“It is a terrible precedent for our town and the quality of the review conducted by our planning board, to continue to rely solely on information, data, and interpretation of plans submitted by the people being paid by those with projects and applications before the Planning Board,” writes SmART. 

“It is incumbent upon the planning board to seek out, and the town board to provide, the kind of independent and professional advice such as planning and environmental engineering, and other forms of expertise necessary to thoroughly inform our planning board members as they review important projects and the totality of their combined potential impacts.”