Carvel starts from scratch

PINE PLAINS — Last Thursday evening, Jan. 21, was a big night for both the town of Pine Plains and representatives of the Carvel Property Development, as both met publicly for a presentation by the Carvel camp on the project’s current status. It also provided Alexander Durst, vice-president of The Durst Organization, Inc., the applicant behind the Carvel plan, the opportunity to submit pre-application materials to the board for New Neighborhood Development (NND) consideration.

“We stand ready to work with the town,†Durst said. “There have been a series of objections to other versions of this plan, and these comments and criticisms have affected our plan. Many have criticized the NND, but without the NND there is no guarantee that over 1,400 acres of open space will be protected in perpetuity or that affordable housing will be available.â€

“I think the term NND has become a hot button and proactive term,†project attorney Jennifer VanTuyl said, who stressed they are at the pre-application stage, which happens before the official application process even begins. “It certainly creates a lengthy review process.â€

Van Tuyl said the very purpose of the pre-application is to obtain a critique. She said there are very limited materials to review and that the town’s codes make it clear that its feedback is nonbinding and could be withdrawn or changed as there’s no approval needed through the SEQRA (State Environmental Quality Review Act) process. She also said it would be “premature†to say when they will return with the actual application.

According to project engineer Dan Stone, real estate investor Douglas Durst purchased the property once owned by ice-cream magnate Thomas Carvel in the early 2000s; a group of professionals from Dutchess County was then assembled to move the project forward.

“They wanted to proceed with an environmentally friendly development and it needed to be consistent with the community’s views,†Stone said. “They’re looking for a win for themselves and a win for the community.†   

The Planning Board is the lead agency for the project and in the summer of 2008 the applicant presented the board with a plan that was more sustainable, more consistent and still viable, according to Stone. Thursday’s presentation and submission, he said, was the “first step in a long series of steps to get everything in line.â€

In line, specifically, with the town’s recently adopted zoning laws.

“At the end of the day if you determine it’s good for the community you will place a zone on it that meets the applicant’s needs and the community’s needs,†he said.

Also submitted last week in the pre-application, along with the NND consideration, was a calculation of the base yield of the project and a description of affordable housing.

“We offer a plan that clusters development and provides low density. What we tried to create is a sense of neighborhoods that connect to each other,†Stone said. “The advantage of clustering is it provides open space .... This is a sound environmental and ecological plan.â€

According to the engineer, there will be 572 units in Pine Plains and 52 units in neighboring Milan — that’s a 40 percent decrease in the number of units proposed in the original plan, according to the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The golf course was also reduced by nine holes and moved away from Ham Brook. Another major concept is the Route 199 corridor; the proposed plan has one new connection to the busy roadway whereas the old plan had nine or 10.

“That’s what we heard people say they wanted,†Stone said.

Plans are also being made for a community water supply and wastewater facilities; wastewater will be treated or recycled and put back onto the golf course through irrigation methods.

There will also be slower, smaller and safer roads, according to Stone.

“We have a commitment to the project, to its high quality and environmental sustainability, whether it’s here in Pine Plains, or in New York City or at McEnroe’s Organic Farm [which my family co-owns],†Durst said. He had listed the project’s priorities at the start of the presentation. “To be protective of natural resources and wetland buffers and vernal pool buffers, for over 65 percent of property to remain untrammeled, to protect the visual corridor along the Taconic Parkway and Route 199, to ensure there will be a pedestrian network so future residents can get around without a car.â€

He added that  jobs will be generated during construction and after the development is complete. Additionally, he said, the project will “provide  the mechanism†to assist in bringing affordable housing to Pine Plains.

Town resident Jane Waters raised her concerns at the start of the night’s meeting, which she addressed to the Town Board and to Durst as well.

“Assessor Jim Mara’s numbers show that in Pine Plains, in 2007, 20 properties were sold,†she said. “In 2008, 11 were sold and in 2009, again, 11 were sold. That’s the reality of the real estate market right now. It’s not for the lack of properties available right now [that the market is so slow].â€

The board said it would consider her comments.

Meanwhile, at the end of the presentation, Van Tuyl tried to nail down a date for the Planning Board (which has a similar presentation scheduled for Feb. 10), the Town Board and its consultants, as well as the Carvel team, to hold a joint meeting. March 3 was suggested as a possible date, but then rejected as Councilwoman Rosie Lyons-Chase could not attend that night. Although no firm date was set, the board is looking at March 15, 16 or 17 as possibilities.

“I think we need to get the process open to the public as soon as possible,†town Supervisor Gregg Pulver said.

A CD copy of the pre-application was left with the Town Board, to be posted on the town’s Web site for public review; that Web address is pineplains-ny.gov.