Kinderhook demands detailed impact study

By: Richard Roth IndeNews February 22, 2006

Town questions effects of proposed village annex plan for 24 homes

KINDERHOOK-A positive declaration of environmental impacts passed by the Kinderhook Town Board means a full environmental impact statement will be required as part of Anthony Buono's plan to expand the Village of Valatie's eastern boundary to include a proposed 14.36-acre subdivision.
The Town Board adopted the declaration at its regular monthly meeting Monday, February 13. "It just means that Mr. Buono has to address these issues we've identified," said Town Supervisor Doug McGivney.
"Their analysis includes some erroneous assumptions and reflects an anti-development agenda," said Mr. Buono, who proposes to build 24 single family houses on half-acre lots on land adjoining Little Falls Estates. The land would be carved out of a 35-acre parcel owned by Mr. Buono; it shares a 1,200-foot boundary with the village.
Because it would encourage growth "where there already is growth," said Mr. Buono, his subdivision proposal is "consistent with the town's comprehensive plan." But in its positive declaration, the Town Board strongly disagrees.
The declaration cites as principal goals of both the town Comprehensive Plan and town zoning law "the preservation of the essential rural character of the town and its historical assets; the fostering of agriculture; and the preservation of open spaces." It says the conversion of almost 15 acres from low density agriculture to high density residential use is "inconsistent with these goals."
The positive declaration says the subdivision plan might have impacts on several features of the town, including land resources, aesthetics, community resources, groundwater, traffic and geological formations.
But Mr. Buono said that in some cases there is simply no basis for the board's objections. "For example," said Mr. Buono, "one of the things they say is that the annexation will affect the drumlin. But the drumlin is not part of the area to be annexed."
A drumlin is a long, rounded hill left after the retreat of a glacier.
Mr. Buono also questions the board's assertion that additional density will lead to traffic problems at the intersection of Main Street with Route 9, which the declaration says is "recognized as a failed intersection" by the state Department of Transportation. He also challenges the board's assertion that there have been major traffic accidents on Rod and Gun Club Road.
"They cite incidents on Rod and Gun Club Road, but they have no data to back that," said Mr. Buono.
The declaration states that nearby residents raised the issue of erosion during public hearings on the annexation proposal, and that they complained of basement flooding in the neighborhood, which could be exacerbated by further residential construction. The declaration acknowledges that any such impact "may be mitigated by the Stormwater Maintenance permitting process."
The declaration outlines two concerns related to community resources. One is that "intermittent piecemeal subdivisions of large properties that circumvent major subdivision regulation could have a detrimental impact on the Town's character, preservation of open space, and agricultural lands." The other is that a possible increase in school enrollment could cost taxpayers as much as $377,040 per year, based on an annual cost of $7,855 per child.
Mr. Buono questions the figures on school enrollment, which are based on a projection of 48 new students in a 24-unit subdivision. He estimates there could be as few as 24 additional students, and he says the Ichabod Crane School District is currently 50 students below its projected enrollment.
More than a third of the land in the proposed subdivision is already classified as residential, according to Mr. Buono. "The town taxes the property as residential property, not agricultural property," he said. "Their analysis that we will take it out of agricultural production is completely wrong."
The Town Board has also raised concern over impacts on the views people would see, called the viewshed, after construction of the development. "The project would have a potentially large impact on aesthetic resources and open spaces," says the board's declaration. It cites a study quoted in the Valatie Draft Comprehensive Plan, where 57% of all those surveyed and 70% of senior citizens felt that "there has been a loss of open space."
Respondents "indicated that it is very important to preserve the remaining open areas and agricultural lands," according to a section of the Draft Comprehensive Plan quoted by the Town Board. The declaration adds that one of the goals of the Comprehensive Plan, which has not yet been adopted, is to "discourage annexation and extension of village infrastructure that could lead to sprawl and loss of town-village boundaries."
Mr. Buono says the matter needs to be put in perspective. "They greatly exaggerate the impact," he says. "We're talking about 14 acres in a town that has 21,000 acres of land; that's less than a hundredth of a percent."
The Valatie Village Board will decide whether to issue its own positive or negative declaration on potential environmental impacts when it meets March 6, and it may have somewhat different concerns.
"I think the town's concern is the open space and the character of the town," said Mr. Buono. "From their questions February 13 it seems the village concern is the impact on the water and the sewer." Water and sewer infrastructure costs will be borne by the developer, he said, "when the time comes for development."
Mr. Buono and Supervisor McGivney agree that the positive declaration means only that a full Environmental Impact Statement will be required. "This is not a death blow by any stretch of the imagination," said Mr. Buono.

To contact reporter Richard Roth, e-mail rroth@indenews.com.

©The Independent 2006

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