On February 9, 2011, the Philipstown Town Board held a public hearing on the latest Zoning draft.
The public hearing has been continued to Wednesday, February 16th, at 7:30pm at the Philipstown Town Hall, 238 Main Street, Cold Spring, NY.
MP3 recordings from the February 8th public hearing are available below. Some of the speakers are quieter than others, so you may have to turn up the volume from time to time.
Important Highland Valley Project info is on this page.
Highland Valley update from 9/7/10 Haldane Board of Education meeting
Superintendent Mark Villanti reported at the 9/7/10 Haldane Board of Education meeting that the status of the negotiations with Highland Valley is essentially the same as it was at the August meeting.
The District is still awaiting receipt of the rewritten Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) from the project developer, which, as of the prior week, had not yet been received.
Haldane’s attorney, according to Dr. Villanti, advised the district that it would take some time to rewrite the DEIS. The rewritten DEIS will then be submitted to three organizations in Philipstown for further review, and it is expected that there will be further give-and-take between the developer and the local coalition once the rewrite is submitted.
Important Highland Valley Project info is on this page.
July 21st Update
Representatives of the Haldane Central School District, the Town of Philipstown, the Hudson Highlands Land Trust and their attorney met with the attorney for the Montfort Family, Mr. Ken Stenger, yesterday to discuss the status of the Highland Valley development. The meeting was cordial and productive.
Mr. Stenger indicated that his clients had been working on the school issue and had had determined that the best way to mitigate the possible impact of a large number of school age children into the Haldane Central School District was to make the Highland Valley Development an age-restricted “55-and-over” development. This designation will significantly reduce, but not eliminate, the possibility of additional children in the school district. Even if Highland Valley is designated as a senior development, based on the Federal Fair Housing Act, up to 20% of the homes will be designated for families. In addition, 55-and-over residents cannot be prevented from having children reside with them. Based on this designation, the school district expects 20 – 30 additional students will be generated by the development over the next 5 years. The developer will work with the school to ensure that the appropriate permanent safeguards are in place and the development remains 55-and-older into the future.
Other issues regarding the project were briefly discussed, but as the developer is in the process of preparing detailed plans to address these issues, the participants in the meeting agreed that it was premature to disclose the incomplete plans to the public. Once draft proposals are completed, they will be distributed for public review and comment.
Mr. Stenger indicated a strong willingness to work with Philipstown and to address the concerns of the school district, the Town of Philipstown and the Hudson Highlands Land Trust. Significant progress has been made and the involved parties are optimistic that continued efforts to work on the various issues will be fruitful.
Important Highland Valley Project info is on this page.
July 12, 2010 Update
The Fishkill Town Board met on Saturday, July 10th, at Shepheard Memorial Park on Route 52 in Fishkill. Stephanie Hawkins of Cold Spring asked Supervisor Pagones for an update on the Highland Valley Project.
Watch the video (text of discussion is below), or listen to an mp3 recording here.
Text of the discussion:
Joan Pagones (Supervisor): Any other comments on any of our agenda items today? Yes, Ma’am? Stephanie Hawkins (audience): My name is Stephanie Hawkins, I’m from Cold Spring, and I understand, I live in the Haldane School District, and I understand that you spoke with Superintendent Mark Villanti… JP: It’s not on the agenda. SH: Yes, I understand, and I’m interested to know when you would expect to have this topic… JP: Right now it’s been pulled by the project sponsor till the project sponsor does due diligence with the school district and DEC and others – when they say they’re ready to put it back on the agenda you will hear and it will be back on the agenda. SH: Do you have any idea when, when that… JP: No. We can not, it’s not in our bailiwick at this time. Ok? SH: Ok, thank you. JP: You can reach the attorney for the project sponsor, Mr. Ken Stenger,… SH: Yes. JP: You can reach him and perhaps he will tell you what his details are right now. SH: Mostly I’m interested in the content of your conversation with the superintendent because I… JP: Well, I should mention that the superintendent was in to see me, and Councilman Malvarosa was there and Councilman Ferguson. He stopped up in to see me and he is very happy that the project may be 55 and over. If the project was 55 and over he assures me that the school district would not have a problem. SH: And did he address any other issues, there were two other concerns, one was the water quality and the protection of Clove Creek… JP: No, he was only interested in the school district. SH: And the… JP: From what I understand the water quality will be handled by DEC, Ron, you want to pipe in here? Ron Blass (Town Attorney): Correct. Yeah, any water quality issues, if this project goes forward, will be handled (inaudible – cough) through expert opinion in the review process. I think the school district, clearly, is interested in the impact on schools in Putnam County and the charge of the school district is not the preservation of water supply for the region. The preservation of water supply for the region is a matter of scientific and expert opinion that, if the project goes forward, will be dealt with by experts. SH: Ok, thank you. And you also had a conversation with Supervisor Shea, can you expand on that? JP: Yes. We talked to Supervisor Shea, and he is very happy with the way things are going and that we will keep him informed, and that any public meetings that we have or any information that we have will be out there. SH: And did you address with him issues other than (inaudible)? Did he also express the concern about the 55+ question, and then also additional development around, on parcels surrounding this area. JP: We did not discuss any of that, it is not on the agenda and we will handle it in a public way when it comes forward. Right now there are no other proposals or projects coming forward in that area. Is that it? SH: Yes. JP: Thank you.
Important Highland Valley Project info is on this page.
July 8, 2010 Update
Dr. Mark Villanti, Haldane School Superintendent, met with Joan Pagones, Town of Fishkill Supervisor, and two other Town of Fishkill Board Members this morning to discuss the status of the Highland Valley project. While no concrete decisions were made at this time, the Town of Fishkill representatives made it clear that they strongly support the designation of the Highland Valley Development as a “55 and older” development. This would significantly reduce or eliminate any impact the development will have on the Haldane Central School District.
As of this time, the Highland Valley Project is on hold pending the evaluation of the “55 and older” designation by the project’s developer. This evaluation by the developer is expected to take several more weeks. At the end of the evaluation process, there will be additional meetings between the Town of Fishkill, the project developer, the Haldane Central School District and the Town of Philipstown.
In addition to the school population issue, the Town of Fishkill Supervisor also indicated that the Highland Valley development would be required to undertake appropriate water quality studies as part of the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) process in the development. (More about SEQRA here.)
This process requires detailed environmental analysis of the proposed development on the environment, including the Clove Creek Aquifer. The Town of Fishkill representatives assured Dr. Villanti that appropriate studies would be done and protective measures taken to insure the safety of the aquifer.
A Town of Fishkill Board Meeting is scheduled for this Saturday, July 10th at 10 AM at Shepheard Memorial Park. Philipstown residents are encouraged to attend to show their continued interest in the Highland Valley Project.
Important Highland Valley Project info is on this page.
The DEC has declined to become a Lead Agency for the Highland Valley Project.
Stephanie Hawkins has kindly shared a letter that she received from William C. Janeway, DEC Regional Director regarding the DEC’s decision. Letter from William Janeway – 06-22-2010(504k pdf)
Upcoming Event:
Next Fishkill Town Board Meeting – Saturday, July 10th, at 10 am at Shepheard Memorial Park. (google map)
Important Highland Valley Project info is on this page.
Highland Valley Status Update as of June 22, 2010
The Haldane Central School District, the Town of Philipstown, the Village of Cold Spring and the Hudson Highlands Land Trust are actively working together as a coalition to address the issues raised by the potential Highland Valley development. Although different members of the coalition have different interests with respect to Highland Valley, the various groups determined that by working together they could save time, money and be more effective by sharing information and ideas about their mutual concerns.
At this time, the members of the Coalition have identified the key issues:
The effect the Highland Valley development will have on the Haldane Central School District population and its potential effect on property taxes
The effect of the development on the Clove Creek Aquifer. The aquifer supplies drinking water to over 50,000 residents of Dutchess and Putnam and lies directly below the proposed Highland Valley development.
Other issues include traffic safety, zoning density and the compatibility of high density zoning in Fishkill located next to much lower density zoning in Philipstown.
Face-to-face meetings have taken place between the key interested parties in Philipstown, the Town of Fishkill and the Highland Valley Developer (the Montfort family). Both the Town of Fishkill and the Highland Valley Developer have recognized the potential problem caused by a large increase in the Haldane school population and have agreed to reevaluate the project in order to reduce the number of students it may produce. This reevaluation includes possibly converting some portion of the Highland Valley project to “senior only” housing to provide low cost residences to seniors without generating additional students to Haldane. It is not clear at this time whether some or all the development will be converted to ‘senior restricted’ status or if some other means to reduce the number of additional students generated by the project can be identified. Over the next few weeks, more meetings will take place between the Town of Philipstown, the Haldane Central School District, the Town of Fishkill and representatives of the Montfort family to address the specific details of the efforts to reduce the potential student enrollment increase caused by Highland Valley.
Regarding the Clove Creek Aquifer, the Town of Philipstown has provided the Highland Valley Developer with copies of detailed water studies that were performed for the Quarry Pond development in Philipstown which is also a “senior only” development project built on a former mining site. It is hoped that some of the recommendations in the Quarry Pond study will lead to additional modifications in the Highland Valley Development. In addition, the Coalition strongly recommends to the Town of Fishkill and the Highland Valley Developer that they undertake their own detailed independent study of the Clove Creek Aquifer to determine the necessary steps to adequately protect the water supply.
The Coalition urges residents of Philipstown to become familiar with and stay aware of what’s happening with Highland Valley. Attending the Town Board meetings in Fishkill is strongly recommended. Our presence at these meetings is an important indication to the Fishkill Town Board and the Highland Valley Developer how important the Highland Valley Development is to us. Please return to this website often for more information as it becomes available.
Important Highland Valley Project info is on this page.
Saturday, June 19th, 10am
Fishkill Town Board Meeting at Camp Foster
The agenda for this meeting is here. Please note that this meeting is NOT at the Town Hall, but at Camp Foster. This meeting will be an important one to attend.
Directions to Camp Foster:
Take 9D north of I84 for about 2 miles. Pass Dutchess Stadium and on the left is Castle Point Rd. Make a left onto Castle Point Rd and Camp Foster is about 300 yards on the left hand side.
Tuesday, June 15th
Haldane Board of Education will meet at 7:00 pm
Meeting in the Mabel Merrit buiding. One of the topics the Board will be discussing is the proposed DEIS for the Highland Valley Project in the Town of Fishkill. Draft agenda.
Monday, June 14th:
Fishkill Town Board Meeting cancelled.
This from the Poughkeepsie Journal: (Note: Link only works for subscribers to PJ)
Fishkill special board meeting canceled
JUNE 13, 2010
FISHKILL — A special meeting called by the Fishkill Town Board for 3:30 p.m. Monday was canceled.
Deputy Supervisor Steve Ferguson said the meeting was originally scheduled so the board could vote to opt in to the new state early retirement incentive.
He said the town attorney informed the board late Friday that a local law would be necessary to take part in the program, requiring drafting the legislation, having a waiting period and holding a public hearing.
Comments Off 
Listen to the mp3 file: Highland Valley Fishkill Planning Board Meeting 06-10-2010
Themocracy