Small turnout for first Depot Hill DEIS hearing

AMENIA — The Planning Board reserved space at the Amenia Elementary School building last Thursday, May 7, for the first of three public hearings on the Depot Hill Farm Community’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), expecting a large turnout.

But attendance was minimal, especially when compared to the public hearing for the Silo Ridge Special Use Permit application, where residents packed into Town Hall, many of whom had comments on the project. Fewer than 15 showed up at the elementary auditorium last week.

Attorney to the Town Michael Hayes opened the Depot Hill hearing by giving a brief background of the project. In 2006 the Planning Board began the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) process; in April 2007 scoping was adopted. That July, the town’s new comprehensive plan was passed, which zoned Depot Hill property in the Residential Development Overlay district. From August 2007 to July 2008, three drafts of the Environmental Impact Statement were submitted, with the third being accepted by the Planning Board as adequate for public review on April 2 of this year.

Hayes explained that this does not mean the document has been approved by the board, only that the applicant has now provided “enough information to facilitate public review and comment.� Under the SEQRA process, the board is required to respond to any public comments, made either in person at a hearing or submitted in writing, that raise issues of environmental concern.

Keane Stud, LLC, the applicant behind Depot Hill, is proposing renovating its horse-stud farm through a residential cluster development on approximately 481 acres on Depot Hill Road. The proposal consists of 137 single-family dwellings, a community garden, equestrian facilities (including indoor and outdoor riding areas, associated barns and stables, a cross-country course, riding/hiking trails and a tack shop), a refreshment cafe, a thoroughbred stud farm and hay fields.

Jeffrey Stark, one of the owners of Keane Stud, gave an introduction before the board opened the floor for public comments. In his speech, Stark gave some background on himself and the project. He and his wife live in Pine Plains, and he said he is drawn to the Depot Hill property development because he is interested in preserving a working agricultural community.

“My vision is to demonstrate that a community formed on agricultural principles could be developed whose purpose was to preserve existing agricultural uses rather than to destroy them,� he said. “If such a model community was shown to be economically viable both for the developer and for the agricultural enterprise, then it could perhaps be a model for the development of other communities wishing to preserve their agricultural heritage.�

Stark pointed out that the project’s site plan proposes 137 homes and new equestrian facilities on 60 of the farm’s 481 acres, less than 13 percent of the total acreage.

Prior to the public hearing, the Planning Board and its consultants have voiced concern over the visual impact of the cluster developments of homes, especially from the view on DeLavergne Hill. Stark acknowledged that impact last Thursday, saying that the impact is the result of the desire to preserve the existing thoroughbred farm by focusing development on the Syms parcel, a plot of land adjacent to the existing stud farm. However, that property contains various streams and a wetland, limiting potential development.

Stark said the current proposal “is the best solution for the various competing interests.�

“Will there be some impact on the viewshed? Only a fool or liar would say no,� he said. “Unless one were to build in the ridge line of Rattlesnake Mountain, which we are not proposing to do, almost any structure added to our 480-acre property could be seen from DeLavergne Hill.�

There were only two public comments during the hearing. Mark Doyle spoke to his “long-standing desire to see viable farming continue in the Hudson Valley.�

Doyle, who said he has known Stark for many years, said the town was in a “fortunate position� to have the current proposal in front of them.

“The task ahead is to make the very best project as we can out of it,� he said.

Doyle also commended the DEIS document for its “clarity of calculation.� His concerns for the project included the impact on farming due to the close proximity of houses and some of the houses on higher slopes that he felt would be “an extreme visual obstruction for the scenic view of the valley.�

He concluded that he was interested in the project because of the possibility of agriculture working hand-in-hand with a development community, and said he hoped the applicant would take an active role in the community to help shape the project.

Becky Thornton, president of the Dutchess Land Conservancy, said Stark had approached the conservancy  with his plans. While Thornton said they liked the idea of protecting 80 percent of open space, they had concerns about the visual impacts from DeLavergne Hill. The conservancy suggested clustering houses around the paddocks, which Stark ultimately said he couldn’t consider. Thornton admitted that the project was “a bit of a juggling act,â€� but recommended that the applicant reduce the number of houses going up the hedge rows, which she said would “significantly reduce the visual impactâ€� of the project. She also mentioned that Stark and his wife have contributed the development rights for their own farm property in Pine Plains to the conservancy.

The Planning Board then closed the public hearing for the night. The next hearing will be held this Saturday, May 16, at 9:30 a.m. in the Amenia Elementary School building auditorium. The final public hearing will be held on June 4 at 7 p.m. at Town Hall.