Goes On... and On... and On... and On...
by Cynthia Owen Philip

Sometimes I can't believe my luck. The day before I sat down to write this article on the immense real estate developments proposed for our area, I played hooky and went iceboating. It was a sparkling clear day and, as we tore across the ice towards Kingston, I had plenty of time to study every wrinkle of the abandoned brickyard and quarry site north of Rondout Creek that is slated to be turned into 2,500 plus dwelling units and almost 400,000 square feet of commercial space.

It is an amazing stretch of waterfront land. The mile and a half shoreline is studded with little coves and nice stands of second growth trees that rise steeply to a handsome ridge. The huge old quarries look like a fantasy moonscape from a distance but, having walked the northern section where the tall cement silos are, I can report it is one of the most fascinating landscapes I've ever witnessed. Ancient fossils abound, and throughout the entire site is habitat for wild animals and wonderful drifts of wildflowers.

Sailor's Cove & The Landing
In short, the site presents enormous challenges for any redevelopment. At present there are two developers. Ohio-based Polaris owns the 76-acre brickyard which it calls Sailor's Cove; Yonkers-based Kingston Landing Limited Liability Corporation owns the much vaster 524-acre quarry site, called The Landing. The two developers are making separate plans for a mix of mid-rise, low-rise and garden apartment buildings, townhouses, and a sprinkling of single family houses that when added together will total over 2,500 dwelling units meant to house an estimated 6,000+ residents. Also planned: a variety of commercial and office spaces, and a marina for 68 boats.

The Kingston Planning Department is happy about the developments. According to Suzanne Cahill, the head of the department, they will remediate a now useless industrial area, provide a mix of needed housing, as well as expand public access along the waterfront, a long-term goal of the city's planning program. The density of the projects does not seem unusual to her. After all, she told me, Kingston is an urban community.

The designs for Sailor's Cove and The Landing are now sketchy; at best, they might be called signals of intent. Sailor's Cove is still working up its first environmental impact statement. The Landing, however, is expected to submit its second environmental statement soon, after which there will be public hearings and the actual design will begin to take form. Such organizations as Scenic Hudson, Friends of Rondout, the Riverkeeper, Sloop Clearwater and Hudson River Heritage—as well as planners in the Town of Rhinebeck—have been looking at the developments from a regional perspective for some time and are distributing information and holding meetings to alert the wider public to the potential impacts of the projects. Their goal is to gain broad support for development on the sites that is compatible with the character of the mid-Hudson region.

Scenic Hudson has its own plan for the site, one that integrates buildings and natural topography. It was put together with help from Friends of Rondout, a group that strongly advocates saving native plants and trees. Containing three linked public parks along the waterfront, two of them graced with sandy coves, the Scenic Hudson proposal would not only give the public a host of recreational opportunities, but would also buffer the visual impact of the developments from the river and the eastern shore. Scenic Hudson is firm that no structures should intrude upon the pristine ridgeline; they also expect the overall density to be reduced. Sloop Clearwater is even more adamant about limiting the size of the development, its director Andre Mele told me the hoped-for density runs irrevocably against Clearwater's longtime mission of restoring the healthy ecology of the river.

Hudson River Heritage is geared up, too. In line with its conservationist approach, it is taking a strong hands-on position that advocates preserving the mid-Hudson valley's "sense of place." Hudson River Heritage fears that the noise and light emanating from Sailor's Cove and The Landing will destroy an important view shed on the Federally-designated Hudson River National Historic Landmark District, and that cars traveling to and from the Amtrak station will impose an unsupportable extra burden on narrow River Road and the streets of Rhinecliff. The group recently sponsored a well-attended information session at the China Rose in Rhinecliff, a perfect location because the development sites are in full view from the restaurant. They've put a petition on their website, www.hudsonriverheritage.org, seeking signatures in support of their positions.

Exploding Pine Plains
Those of you who read my article on huge developments of regional concern in About Town's Fall 2003 issue may recall the Hudson Valley Club development on the Carvel property in Milan and Pine Plains. It is to be a community focused on recreation—golf, riding, tennis etc.—with 975 residences on one- to six-acre lots and some garden apartments, all expensive by town standards. In the last 18 months the developers have been honing in on the site's topographic demands and I'm happy to report that the people involved in the planning process whom I've interviewed are pleased with the care with which they have examined its steep slopes, ridgelines, wetlands, and streams as well as its historic buildings. They also like the environmentally sensitive manner in which they are approaching golf course maintenance, sewage disposal, and interior roads.

Still to come, however, are the potential impacts on the infrastructure of Pine Plains—schools, hospitals, police and fire fighting forces, water sources, roads and housing in a broader price range. In addition, traffic on Route 199 and the Taconic Parkway will undoubtedly increase. Schools are an especially thorny issue because so many children come from neighboring towns including many in Columbia County (Ancram and Gallatin, for instance). Fortunately this gives their parents a say in the development's review. Nevertheless, the general consensus remains that the Hudson Valley Club/Carvel planning process is progressing in an orderly and open manner and in the end just might be manageable. Nevertheless, to give its own planning process time, Milan has adopted a year-long moratorium on subdivisions of land larger than ten acres with four or more lots. It is also fast-tracking the revision of its 18-year old Comprehensive Plan. (One of Milan's interesting aspects is that, although it covers thirty-three square miles, it does not have its own school district; it sends some of its students to Pine Plains, some to Red Hook and others to Rhinebeck.)

In addition to the Hudson Valley Club, Pine Plains has its hands full with an in-hamlet development called Village Green. Slated to occupy 85 acres at the junction of Routes 82 and 83, the development is projected to contain 289 condominiums over stores, restaurants and a supermarket with a pharmacy. The project's density is only one of its problems. Another is that, instead of attempting to become an organic part of the existing town center, the development seems to aim at supplanting the historic commercial center. On February 12 over 200 residents turned up at the Pine Plain High School to enumerate the development's potential impacts. Among the most prominent concerns were its location over an aquifer that serves the town, and the fact that the project's run-off and sewage would drain into Stissing and Thompson lakes and eventually make their way to Wappinger's Creek.

Not yet put under the microscope in Pine Plains is yet another, comparatively small, subdivision near Stissing Lake called Park View Estates, which anticipates 40 houses. Pine Plains residents are concerned about its possible impact on the Stissing Mountain Critical Environmental Area and whether or not it is consistent with the neighborhood character.

Clearly, Pine Plains has reason to feel itself in a development pressure cooker. No question but the doubling or tripling of its population will transform it from a quiet rural community into a sleeker, more bustling place. Happily, residents have formed Pine Plains United to pool their skills and disseminate information; And the Town has been persuaded to hire a team of professional planners, Nan Stolzenberg's Community Planning and Environmental Associates, which specializes in rural communities. The goals of both the citizens group and the Town are to make certain that the growth that is inevitably coming reflects the historic, rural character of Pine Plains.

St. Lawrence Cement
Some people may think that the St. Lawrence Cement company's plans for building a large new facility outside Hudson is stalemated because after six years of pushing its gargantuan plant, it has not received one of the 17 permits and approvals it needs from 12 local, county, state and federal agencies. Not so: the company is alive and determined to forge ahead. As I write, Friends of Hudson has banded together with Scenic Hudson and the Olana Partnership in a huge petition gathering effort to persuade New York State's Division of Coastal Resources to permit the lengthy series of hearings ordered by the state Department of Environmental Conservation in September to go forward. That decision is due March 1, after this issue has gone to press.

Should the petition drive be successful, opponents of the St. Lawrence Cement plant are confident that they will eventually prevail, since what began as a local issue has now become an extended regional issue. The harmful substances emitted from the plant's huge plume would spread not only over New York State, but east across Connecticut and as far north as Maine. "We face a clear choice," says Sam Pratt, the director of burgeoning Friends of Hudson: "Do we look back to the coal-fired plants of a hundred years ago, or forward to clean, sustainable, and appropriately-scaled 21st century development?"

Stay Informed
Every single one of the projects mentioned above, as well as the plethora of developments that are on the horizon—among them the development of 600 acres of the Creed-Ankony farm in Rhinebeck and the mixed use development of the Hudson Valley Psychiatric Center in Wingdale—will have some impact on our neighborhoods. I urge you to get into the loop. Become informed. And make your opinions, whatever they are, known to the powers that be.

P.S. For the strong of heart: www.friendsofhudson.org coast is the best source I've found for the state laws that govern development close to the river. Or call 518-822-0334.