Resort billboard becomes a road show in Shandaken

By Jay Braman Jr., Correspondent Daily Freeman February 23, 2006

HIGHMOUNT - The owner of a large temporary sign promoting the proposed Belleayre Resort at Catskill Park promised last week to remove it after receiving a number of complaints. What he didn't say was that it would be driven to the other end of town.
The sign, about eight feet high and 32 feet wide, was attached to a large truck trailer and positioned in the parking lot of the Crossroads Ventures property in this hamlet on the western border of the town of Shandaken, giving passersby on state Route 28 a good look at its message.
Crossroads Managing Partner Dean Gitter removed the sign "after listening to feedback from the community," said spokesman Paul Rakov.
But on Wednesday morning, the sign reappeared, this time near the eastern gateway of Shandaken, alongside Route 28 in Mount Tremper, on property Gitter also controls.
"The sign will be situated on our property in Mount Tremper for the foreseeable future," Gitter said. "We will, however, endeavor to make it more aesthetically pleasing in keeping with the way we have beautified properties all over Shandaken for years. And we will continue to bring before the public the benefits they will enjoy from the project."
An administrative law judge with the state Department of Environmental Conservation recently declared that the golf resort plan requires further scrutiny. The ruling, now under appeal, pertains to Crossroads Ventures' request for permits to construct and operate the resort in Shandaken and the neighboring Delaware County town of Middletown.
The proposal calls for construction of 400 hotel rooms, 351 additional hotel and housing units, a 21-lot single-family residential subdivision and two 18-hole golf courses. The development would occupy 573 acres within a 1,960-acre area.
The sign, which advertises claims about job creation and tax relief, is legal, Rakov said. Town Code Enforcement Officer Glenn Miller could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
According to the town's zoning code, posted on the town's Web site, the following temporary signs are permitted without a permit: Construction signs not exceeding 32 square feet; event signs not exceeding 24 square feet, to be removed within 10 days after the event; and real estate "for sale" signs or similar signs not exceeding four square feet per side in any residential district or 10 square feet per side in any commercial district.

©Daily Freeman 2006

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