Action Alert!
Manufacturing Facility Proposed Adjacent to
Catskill Park’s Bluestone Wild Forest and
Newly Acquired OSI Property
A developer has proposed building a 240,000 square foot concrete manufacturing facility on land surrounded by the Bluestone Wild Forest and a 208-acre woodland recently conserved by the Open Space Institute (“OSI”). The project is currently under review by the Town of Kingston Planning Board. Concerns have been raised about the potential impacts the project could have on the adjacent Bluestone Wild Forest and OSI Property during the project’s construction and operation. The next Town of Kingston Planning Board meeting (Monday, June 17th at 7 PM) is an important opportunity for the public to learn more about the project and to provide comment.
It is unclear what impact this concrete plant could have on the Bluestone Wild Forest and the OSI Property. On March 18, 2019, the Town of Kingston Planning Board adopted a ‘Negative Declaration.’ Under the State Environmental Quality Review Act, a ‘Negative Declaration’ classification is only supposed to be issued when there is certainty that a proposed project will cause no significant adverse environmental impacts. This issuance of the Negative Declaration means the developer, 850 Route 28 LLC, will not be required to prepare a full environmental impact statement before the Planning Board decides whether to issue a special use permit for the project. The Woodstock Land Conservancy, the Open Space Institute, Catskill Mountainkeeper, the Catskill Center, and other groups believe the Planning Board should not have accepted the developer’s assertion that the project will have no adverse impacts. Please join these groups to urge the Planning Board to rescind the Negative Declaration, require the developer to prepare a full environmental impact statement and postpone any decision on site plan/special use permit approval until such work is completed.
Next Steps
Please consider attending the June 17th Planning Board meeting at 7 PM at the Town of Kingston Town Hall, located at 906 Sawkill Road, Kingston, to learn more about the project, ask questions, and provide comments. Another option is to contact the Town of Kingston Planning Board and elected officials listed below. See the attached template letter as an example of a letter you may send to elected officials, but feel free to express your own concerns as well.
Template Letter
John Konior, Chair
Town of Kingston Planning Board
906 Sawkill Road
Kingston NY 12401
via email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
RE: 850 Route 28 LLC Site Plan / Special Use Permit Application
Dear Chairman Konior and the Town of Kingston Planning Board:
As a local resident who enjoys our region's natural resources, I am very concerned about a proposal before the Town of Kingston Planning Board to construct a large-scale concrete manufacturing facility on land surrounded by the Catskill Park’s Bluestone Wild Forest and other property conserved by the Open Space Institute (OSI). These lands are a beloved natural area for Kingston residents like me who go to there to hike, bike, fish, swim, and enjoy the peace of its woodlands. This proposed facility could have significant environmental impacts on the adjacent Bluestone Wild Forest and OSI Property. I respectfully request that the Planning Board rescind the Negative Declaration issued in March, require the developer to prepare a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement, and keep open the public hearing for site plan/special use permit until a thorough review has been completed.
The developer, 850 Route 28 LLC, has not fully accounted for numerous potential adverse environmental impacts from the construction and operation of the plant. It proposes to clear 21 acres of trees, blast 405,000 cubic yards of rock, and construct a plant totaling 240,000 square feet. Construction will take at least five years of work lasting from 6 AM to 7 PM, and nearly 12,500 trucks will be required to remove 162,000 cubic yards of material. After construction, the facility could be run 24 hours a day, seven days a week and would cause over a hundred new vehicles to use Route 28 daily (including 42 trucks).
A comprehensive review of the proposed project is needed to fully understand the potential adverse environmental impacts to the Bluestone Wild Forest and surrounding community. These impacts are likely to include:
· Water Contamination: The developer’s stormwater pollution prevention plan fails to fully address stormwater and other potential impacts to Pickerel Pond.
· Noise: Construction will include significant amounts of blasting, rock crushing, and other noisy activities that will affect recreation and wildlife in the Bluestone Wild Forest and in the OSI Property.
· Hours of Operation: Impacts related to proposed round-the-clock work were not considered by the Planning Board in the Negative Declaration.
· Habitat: A thorough analysis of the impacts of the proposed construction and operations on the adjacent Bluestone Wild Forest and on the OSI Property has not been conducted.
· Traffic: The developer only analyzed the effects of traffic on Route 28. There is no information regarding the effect of truck pollution and noise on the Bluestone Wild Forest or
on the OSI Property.
· Views: No thorough analysis of the visual impacts of the construction of a huge manufacturing plant within the Bluestone Wild Forest nor the OSI Property has been conducted.
Please rescind your Negative Declaration determination and require the developer to examine all potential adverse environmental impacts, as is clearly required under the State Environmental Quality Act. I strongly urge the Planning Board to take no further action on this application with respect to site plan/special use permit until all impacts have been assessed and suitable mitigation techniques and alternatives have been investigated.
Very sincerely,
Your name
Address
Email
Suggested list of agency and representatives to contact:
NYS DEC:
John Petronello, Acting Region 3 Director 845-256-3033
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Commissioner Basil Seggos, NYS DEC 518-402-8545
Email on website: https://www.dec.ny.gov/about/407.html
ULSTER COUNTY LEGISLATORS (partial list):
Tracey Bartels: Chair, Ulster County Legislature 845-340-3900 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. you can request that she distribute to all UC legislators
James Maloney: Ulster County Legislator Dist. #4
845-399-6810
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Brian Woltman: Chair, Ulster County Legislature’s Economic Development & Tourism Committee
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Jonathan Heppner: Ulster County Legislator District #23 845-594-3141
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Pat Ryan: Ulster County Executive-Elect
845-340-3800
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Town of Kingston Supervisor, Paul Landi
c/o Town Clerk, Dennis Weiss
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Any questions, please contact Woodstock Land Conservancy Executive Director, Maxanne Resnick.
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Founded in 1988 by a dedicated group of local citizens, the Woodstock Land Conservancy is a non-profit land trust. We are run by a small staff and an all-volunteer Board of Directors. At its core, WLC is an ever-growing community of dedicated and generous volunteers, supporters, and community members who share a passionate love and respect for the land and the unique place we live. WLC owns and manages undeveloped land and works with landowners to permanently protect their property through conservation easements and by acquiring their land through donation or sale. We also provide nature education and outdoor activities to the community. Because we operate in the public interest, WLC depends on private donations to carry out its work. It is our strong foundation in the community that makes it possible to protect land that otherwise would be lost forever. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to learn how you can become part of our work!
