Study list for Hidden Forest OK'd

By Donna Cafaldo, Correspondent Daily Freeman February 8, 2006

HURLEY - Town planners have unanimously approved a comprehensive list of required environmental studies to be completed by developers of the proposed Hidden Forest housing development.
The 34-page document approved Monday night contains a variety of items and issues town planners see as requiring full examination on key environmental, economic and social factors in order to provide in-depth analysis of what presently exists versus what is being proposed.
The Hidden Forest at Hurley proposal looks to situate an over-55 adult gated community on a 411 acre parcel between Lucas Avenue and U.S. Route 209. The project, which lies within an agricultural district and 1-acre lot zoning, is seeking approval for a planned residential development, or PRD, designation in order to construct the 652-unit housing complex.
Of the 652 units, 344 are slated to be estate or single-family homes, with the balance of 308 to be luxury twin homes or duplexes.
A planned residential development looks to increase housing density, or offer clustering, in exchange for open space. The PRD designation has existed in Hurley's zoning since 1991 giving the Town Board the final say in granting the zoning amendment. Town planners have been charged with providing a recommended opinion to the Town Board for or against the designation.
Developers are proposing one dwelling unit for every 0.63 acres, according to their draft "scoping" document. Additional recreational amenities planned include a clubhouse, a pool, tennis courts, bocce courts and a nature trail network.
Hidden Forest would increase Hurley's population by more than 5 percent.
Town planners, who determined last fall that the project will have potential significant impact on the environment, have also asked developers to provide an evaluation of alternatives and measures for mitigating the potential environmental impacts identified. The proposed project is set to have its own private water and sewer systems and will be owned and maintained by a homeowner's association.
The preliminary assessment of the proposal found the project would disturb undeveloped wooded land and may harm land, water, plants and animals, agricultural land resources, historic and archaeological resources, and have impacts on transportation, energy and growth and neighborhood character.
Town Planning Board Chairman Paul Hakim, who described the protracted document as "enlightening," said town planners and developers also need to work together to "brainstorm" ideas in an effort to see the project also meets the town's long-term goals, specifically the town's drafted comprehensive plan.
Hakim said the town's drafted comprehensive plan, now in its final stages, has identified as one of its goals to be able to provide for Hurley's aging population. The need for senior housing while allowing the town's seniors to "age in place," or create a "lateral move," is something he feels could be accomplished with a project like Hidden Forest .
However, Hakim said the affordability factor should be "key" to fitting the demographics of locals.
Planning Board member Richard Giebelhaus said he also specifically wants to see developers address how they intend to attract people to Hurley with proposed housing prices from the high $200,000 to high $300,000 price range.
"I want to be able to see how they plan to compete with Sun City," Giebelhaus said.
Attorney Geraldine Tortorella who represented the developers, Hurley 209, LLC, in Monday night's session, said she felt developers would be happy to listen to the town's suggestions in the effort to make the project more attractive while meeting the needs of the community.
Hakim said he was aware that developers have heard "nothing but negative" about their project and reiterated that the town has a specific need and the zoning in place.
"We just need to make it the best for everyone," Hakim said, adding he hopes developers will be able to design into their project a compromise of what Hurley residents are looking for in an effort to find some middle ground on the more controversial issues.
The next stop for developers will be to meet with the Town Board on Feb. 27.
The visit will be the first for the project's agents since a new Town Board majority took over on Jan. 1.
Developers expect to have the draft environmental impact studies completed sometime this spring.

©Daily Freeman 2006

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