County Legislator drafts resolution against Carvel


 

PINE PLAINS — While he may not represent the town of Pine Plains, Dutchess County Legislator Joel Tyner (D - District 11) is concerned with the possible impact of the Carvel Development Project on the towns of Rhinebeck and Clinton, which he does represent.

Which is why on Monday he proposed a resolution to the Dutchess County Legislature asking the planning and town boards of both Pine Plains and Milan to reject the project.

"Frankly, being the chairman of the [county's] Environmental Committee, I feel a little guilty for not doing something earlier," Tyner said. "We’re talking about a project that ignores local zoning requirements and local open space requirements. They propose a planned recreation community zone to get around that. With 951 units of housing, you are talking about increased traffic and pollution in the towns I serve."

However, the resolution did not pass during the Legislature’s meeting on Monday night. Despite this, Tyner said he is not giving up.

"We are going to try for this to go through the committee process and we’ll discuss this on Thursday, April 10 when the Environmental Committee meets," Tyner said. "I have been a county legislator for four years, and I have never seen an issue take off so fast where there was a blizzard of letters sent directly to legislators. I cannot sit idly by and twiddle my fingers while this is going on."

The resolution states that the Durst Organization did not study and map the sensitive areas of the land for the project before making any decisions for the development. It also states that the company refused to properly size the project.

The Durst Organization’s director of external affairs, Jordan Barowitz, said the company is displeased with Tyner’s resolution.

"This cynical attempt to subvert SEQRA [State Environmental Quality Review Act] unlawfully interferes with the town of Pine Plains and Milan's review of the project and is riddled with pseudo-science and demagoguery," Barowitz wrote via e-mail. "This publicity stunt demeans the substantive public hearings and discussions that this project has engendered and insults the judgment and independence of the leaders and residents of Pine Plains and Milan."

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