Save the Nature of the Catskills APRIL UPDATE: SAVE STERLING FOREST!
Another home run for our SNC campaign, this time in an Orange County anchor community. On April 16, an amazing turn-out of organized grassroots folks, along with current and former elected officials, strongly encouraged the Town of Warwick Planning Board to either deny as a whole, or require a full environmental impact statement (EIS) on, the proposal for a 200+ adult residential educational facility located in the heart of Sterling Forest State Park.
Not only playing a critical role in providing clean drinking water for millions of people in New York and New Jersey, the 20,000 acre wild and recreational Park was a hard-won conservation success, amassed over the past 25 years by a strong coalition of non-profit, private and public entities. It is embedded in a larger area of over 100,000 acres of largely uninterrupted woodland, serving as a wildlife corridor and urban watershed, only 40 miles from New York City.
A residential facility of any type is incompatible with the significant natural and economic asset that Sterling Forest State Park is, and it would be a grave disservice to both residents and visitors for the Town to violate the sanctity of this park as a valuable resource to be protected and managed for the betterment of the environment and community.
A crowd of over 100 people filled the room and spilled out the doors into the hallways for a record-breaking 3.5 hour hearing. After weeks of thorough review of documents from the applicant and intensive training on the mandatory State Environmental Quality Review, this community of concerned citizens expressed their many concerns over the potential for much more than just one significant adverse environmental impact – the threshold for issuing a positive declaration of significance and requiring an EIS. They spoke clearly, respectfully and concisely, limited to three minutes, on issues related to impacts: on land during construction in a shallow water table, on slopes and exposed bedrock: on surface water considering the proximity to the downhill Sterling Lake health and vernal pools; on groundwater due to the withdrawal capacity rates; on rare, threatened and endangered species habitat degradation or reduction, already admitted by the applicant; on aesthetic resources, based on the residential college being fully surrounded by a treasured state park that closes at dusk and does not allow for overnight stay; on vehicular and pedestrian traffic, interfering with wildlife and tourism; on archaeological and historic sites, due to significant Revolutionary War relics and an iron forge; and on community character, water and wastewater infrastructure, solid waste, light, sound, smell and toxic remains from the building degradation and research facility testing. The impressive list of speakers included the former Town Historian, the Supervisor of the Town of Tuxedo, a former Supervisor of the Town of Tuxedo, a Tuxedo Planning Board member, former Executive Director of the Sterling Forest Partnership, a former DEP Deputy Commissioner, a founding member of OCLT, attorneys, school bus drivers, nurses, firemen and teachers. This was supplemented by more than 290 letters and petitions signed by more than 2000 signatures.
It is also undeniable that parkland, like Sterling Forest State Park, is an economic asset which attracts visitors, tourists, businesses and second homeowners. Parks mitigate climate impacts and offset impacts from extreme weather events. Preserved land provides water filtration, flood control, pollination habitat and reduces air pollution. These ecosystem services actually save our communities money and create value for our community. Living near a park increases the value of surrounding land. Communities that forego development in favor of parkland and open space can increase their net revenue – costs to provide community services and support to development projects exceed the added taxpayer revenue from such development.
Based on comments from the Planning Board, the cavalier attitude of the applicant’s representatives at the meeting, and the piecemeal approach of providing critical information to the Town and the public, there is great concern that the Town will claim there is no potential for even a single significant adverse impact despite professional and personal comments to the contrary. The project cannot be considered in isolation of its location and the record speaks for itself: any reasonable person, aware of the setting within a state park that closes at dusk, would agree that there could be at least one potential adverse impact from a residential project of this scale and type.
Please reach out to CMK or the Sterling Forest Partnership for further information, and send in your comments and concerns today directed to the Town of Warwick Planning Board Chair Ben Astorino at Warwick Town Hall, 132 Kings Highway, Warwick, New York 10990.
