UPDATE October 21, 2021: For nearly two months there has been site clearing activity on the 850 site. Neighbors complained and the work continued. In September the Town Board was made aware of the on-site activity by neighbor Steve Malloy and WLC’s Maxanne Resnick, noting that no permits had been issued, The Zoning Code Enforcement officer was sent out to review, but no update was relayed to complainants.The Daily Freeman reported that there was a STOP work order, but in the ensuing days it was learned that this was a REQUEST only. So the site clearing has continued. Recent drone video shows the scale of this work and also comparing drone photos from 2016, 2018 and present, it seems that there has been additional excavation of a significant mound of trees, rock and soil.
Based on the above, Catskill Mountainkeeper & Woodstock Land Conservancy’s attorney, Claudia Braymer, send the Town a letter citing the various Town laws that this activity appears to have violated, including that the applicant presently has an application before the Planning Board for this site, which is in a SEQRA review having received in July a POSITIVE DECLARATION. Enquiries to NYS DEC Region 3 resulted in the receipt of a letter, which suggests that the applicant in August appealed to DEC to expand their “contractor’s yard” and promising the movement of less than 3,500 cubic yards of material. The DEC made clear they were relying on the Town for certain local approvals. From the drone footage it is evident that to date no storm water controls have been put into place despite the major disturbance.
At the October 18th Planning Board meeting, the Planning Board attorney advised that based on these recent letters, the Zoning Code Enforcement officer was reviewing the historic files to determine whether he can give his approval to this site clearing — which is being based on a prior owner’s permit approximately 12 years ago.
Please email Maxanne with a summary of what you are hearing while at Bluestone Wild Forest, the date and the duration. Also, if interested to participate in this process, contact Maxanne Resnick at maxanne.wlc@gmail.com