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January 25, 2003 Experts target Shawangunk development By Paul Brooks Times Herald-Record pbrooks@th-record.com Gardiner – Environmentalists have fired their first major volley in their battle to stop an upscale gated community from taking root on the Shawangunk Ridge. In a letter dated Jan. 6, two local residents with development expertise outlined two pages of what they termed as problems and deficiencies with the Awosting Reserve plan. The development calls for 349 houses. They would be spread over 2,364 acres on the environmentally sensitive Shawangunk Ridge, according to documents submitted to Town of Gardiner officials. Among the problems that Peter Conde and Philip Ehrensaft see: water sources, sewer treatment, impact on schools and town resources, and economic impact. Conde is a hydrologist, Ehrensaft is a regional development researcher. Developers paint too rosy a picture by using only "best-case" scenarios instead of more realistic projections, the opponents contend. For instance, the opponents say, daily water use is averaged over an entire year. "Averages will have no meaning to a resident whose well goes dry during an August drought," Conde and Ehrensaft said in a memo to the Town Board and Planning Board. The two also said the plans are missing information on impacts on wildlife, historic and archeological resources, transportation and groundwater. "There is a reasonable risk that the costs of servicing the Awosting Reserve residents would exceed the taxes they pay, thus increasing the tax burden on the community as a whole," Conde and Ehrensaft said. Some of the criticisms are off the mark, said Roger Beck, president of Awosting Reserve. "All of these [issues]," he said, "will be addressed through the [Environmental Impact Statement] process." The project is currently before the town Planning Board. The board's next session is scheduled for Feb. 18. 40 Mulberry Street * PO Box 2046 * Middletown, NY 10940 Telephone 845-341-1100 or 800-295-2181 outside the Middletown, N.Y., area. Powered by THRNewMedia.com
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