Dover Knolls
Dover Knolls: Findings Statement
May 12, 2010
The Dover Knolls Findings Statement was adopted by the Town Board on May 12, 2010, in a 3-2 vote. Supervisor Ryan Courtien, and Board Members Christopher Galayda and Kathleen Frame voted in favor; Board Members Lorraine O’Neil and Kaye Surman opposed.
CRGD is pleased that our hydrogeologist’s comments were acknowledged and recommended to the Town Board by DEC and the Dover Town Planner, AKRF, and were incorporated into the FEIS and the Findings Statement. We are concerned, however, that the Town Board has seemingly granted the Benjamin Companies an extraordinarily long period of time (7-15 years) to proceed under the Application as accepted. (The Planning Board recommended three years.) Does that mean the full buildout, and the Benjamins’ projected net revenue benefit to Dover, may not take place for 53 years? To prevent that unfortunate outcome, we expect the Benjamin Companies and Supervisor Courtien and fellow Dover Town Board members Chris Galayda and Kathy Frame to fast-track the Dover Knolls development, just as together they fast-tracked the Application process, so that Dover Knolls will proceed apace with construction and demolition.
CRGD will continue to work with the Town Board and Dover Knolls Liason Kathy Schibanoff to help assure that Dover residents’ concerns are heard with regard to negative fiscal consequences, and that local, regional and national concerns are heard with respect to environmental issues.
- Read Dover Town Board SEQRA findings
*Note: printed post date is for chronological clarity. Actual post date is August 13, 2010.
Dover Knolls Liason Comments on The Millbrook Independent’s coverage, and TMI responds
May 5, 2010
Dover Knolls Liason comments on TMI’s coverage, April, 2010
To the editor:
A March 31 article on the Dover Knolls Public Hearing states in the first paragraph that John Fila issued the Town Board “a wake up call” asking “the why of this development.” I am guessing a wake up call would be for those people who have not been involved in Dover for the last seventeen years. Those who have closely followed this project know the “why.” The closure of Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center (HVPC) left the region without thousands of jobs, 850 acres off the tax rolls, and 2.5 million square feet of abandoned, deteriorating space that community leaders have been trying to deal with for the past seventeen years. For those people, the question is “when?” When will enough time and effort be spent to allow the redevelopment to take place?
In 1994, the town and county leaders energized the Harlem Valley Partnership to focus on finding the ways and means to recover from losing the region’s major employer and spent years on studies, plans, public hearings, and marketing for reusing the HVPC. In 1999, the Town Board created a zoning overlay district to attract development to the site. In 2002, the County included portions of the HVPC in the Poughkeepsie Dutchess Empire Zone to provide further incentive for a developer. After ten years on the market, state and local leaders approached Mr. Benjamin after he successfully redeveloped two other state facilities and the HVPC was finally sold in 2003. Now, seven years later, a project may be in sight.
The article also states the Town Board did not trust the planning board to handle the SEQRA process, and thus declared itself lead agency and conducted all SEQRA hearings in order to speed up the process. This is a fabrication as the Dover Zoning Code written in 1999 clearly states that the Town Board must approve a comprehensive development plan and a conceptual site plan. To date, Dover Knolls submitted a zoning amendment application to the Town Board as required in the 1999 code for the Mixed-Use Overlay District. The current Town Board picked up where the process left off with the previous board. There was no hi-jacking of lead agency from the Planning Board.
In 2008, the Town Board did change the 1999 code to assume the role the Planning Board had in a site plan application for individual components of the plan, a step that Dover Knolls has not even reached yet. The SEQRA process and Town Board approval of the Master Development Plan needs to take place before that next step can begin. The erroneous implications written in the article are unfortunate and lose sight of the big picture, the benefits of redeveloping a large site that was intensively and extensively used for decades and continues to have a blighting influence on our home.
The developer funded environmental mapping of the site before planning, brought in nationally recognized architects and economic analysts, and spent over $20 million working through almost seven years of process. The Dover Town Board went above and beyond at every step of the SEQRA process by extending comment periods, extending speaking times and posting each and every version of any EIS to the town’s website. Anyone asking “why?” should speak to the over 500 people who have requested an application for work, ask residents who have lost their homes, ask the long-time businesses that couldn’t hang on any longer and ask those that are barely hanging on now, hoping that some new investment monies will begin to come into Dover. The intent of SEQRA is to find the suitable balance of social, economic and environmental factors in planning. Dover has not recovered from the losses in 1994. Lots of time has passed and times have only gotten worse. We all need to pay attention to what is happening to the social and economic health of our community.
Kathleen Schibanoff
Former Executive Director of the Harlem Valley Partnership
Current Local Liaison for Dover Knolls Editorial reply:
Contrary to Ms. Schibanoff’s charges, TMI did not fabricate the view that the town board appointed itself lead agency “in order to speed up the process.” That view was expressed by members of the town board, the planning board and others TMI interviewed in connection with the preparation of the article.
The chair of the planning board submitted a letter in the SEQRA hearings pointing out that the planning board was better equipped to deal with the SEQRA, a view that is generally held in the planning community. Ms. Schibanoff confuses lead agency status under SEQRA with the role of the town board in making zoning changes and approving a master development plan .“Lead agency” is a term unique to the SEQRA process required by the Environmental Law. Zoning changes are, by law, reserved to town boards.
We share Ms. Schibanoff’s desire to see the last of the derelict institutional ghost town that haunts our region, but also know haste in planning a project of the size and complexity of Dover Knolls is not a recommended tactic.
*Note: printed post date is for chronological clarity. Actual post date is August 13, 2010.
Dover Knolls: Letter from Constance DuHamel on March 25th, announcing FEIS Public Comment period extended through March 31
March 25, 2010
Greetings Dover Knolls Interested Parties and Friends:
For those of you who could not make last night’s Public Hearing on the Final Environmental Impact Statement, Supervisor Courtien agreed to extend the period for Written Comment through March 31st.
For those inadvertently left off the Interested Party list (Audubon NY, Bedford Audubon, Naromi Land Trust, TNC, PNR) and for those who did not receive a hard copy of the FEIS, you may view it at http://www.townofdover.us/DoverKnollsCompleteFEIS.cfm
Tomorrow I plan to circulate CRGD’s consultants’ comments which were read into the record last night. While the Town Board is not obligated to respond to comments under SEQRA, the project has clearly benefited from your comments thus far and we hope you will take this opportunity to make your opinions heard once again.
Thank you for your contributions, and thanks again to Supervisor Courtien for permitting additional comment on this complex project.
Best,
Stancy DuHamel
*Note: printed post date is for chronological clarity. Actual post date is August 13, 2010.
Dover Knolls: Public Comment on FEIS at March 24, 2010 Public Hearing; Supervisor Courtien extends Public Comment Period through March 31, 2010
March 24, 2010
In spite of Dover Town Planner Graham Trelsted of AKRF cautioning the Town Board about “undue delay” under SEQRA, Supervisor Ryan Courtien chose to allow further Public Comment on Dover Knolls. In spite of Supervisor Courtien cautioning the public that the Town Board was not required to incorporate further public comment when adopting the Findings Statement, the public chose to comment in hopes that the Town Board and AKRF would consider further third-party review of the FEIS.
CRGD Fiscal expert PPSA comments on the FEIS
CRGD Hydrogeology expert Leggette Brashears comments on the FEIS
HVA comments on the FEIS
*Note: printed post date is for chronological clarity. Actual post date is August 13, 2010.
Dover Knolls: FEIS posted on Town website; Public Hearing scheduled for Wednesday, March 24th
March 11, 2010
March 11, 2010 letter from Stancy DuHamel to area residents:
Greetings.
On March 1, 2010, Dover Knolls released the statement, “Town Accepts Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Knolls of Dover,” which I have attached here.
Today Supervisor Ryan Courtien informed me that the Final Envrionmental Impact Statemement (FEIS) has been posted on the town’s website, and confirmed that a Public Hearing on the FEIS is scheduled for Wednesday, March 24th, at 6:30 at the Dover Middle/High School Auditorium on Rt 22.
http://townofdover.us/DoverKnollsCompleteFEIS.cfm
The Town Board is under no obligation under SEQRA to allow further public comment; Supervisor Courtien has gone the extra mile to give the public another opportunity to comment on what is a particularly complex project, one which will have tremendous impact on the town, region, the environment, the Great Swamp and Duell Hollow Critical Environmental Areas, and the Houstonic Watershed. If the project is properly phased, and built with the appropriate mix of residential units and commercial/retail space clustered around the train station to the maximum extent possible in a Transit-Oriented development, the impact on balance could be very positive for Dover and the surrounding area.
The Coalition for the Responsible Growth of Dover recognized the need to weigh competing claims on our town’s and region’s resources. CRGD concentrated its Dover Knolls monitoring efforts on the hydrogeologic and fiscal challenges presented by the resubmitted Application and revised versions of the Draft Envrionmental Impact Statement. Thanks to elected officials on essentially three different Dover Town Boards, Interested Parties and Involved Federal and State Agencies, especially the NYS Department of Envrionmental Conservation and Dutchess County Planning, scores of groups and experts came together with the developer’s team to discuss issues raised over many years and during multiple Scoping Sessions, developer presentations, Public Comment and document review sessions.
Your participation in the decision-making process involving land use choices is vital, and will shape our future for generations to come.
Thank you very much,
Stancy DuHamel Wingdale, NY
- Read CRGD Statement
*Note: printed post date is for chronological clarity. Actual post date is August 13, 2010.
Dover Knolls DEIS Public Comment Period Ends
September 13, 2009
On June 30th, the public comment period ended for the Dover Knolls DEIS. Many constructive comments were entered into the public record both in writing and during the public hearings, including fiscal and hydrogeological reports from CRGD’s experts. Significantly, the comments of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation credited the work of CRGD’s water expert, noting that our water report was both “well prepared and accurate.”
Included here are Comments from the Dover Planning Board and the Town Planner, Graham Trelstad, AKRF. Trelstad continues to work with the Town Board and the developer as both teams consider alternatives that incorporate the substantial public comments from State, County and Federal Agencies, CT DEP, regional and national environmental groups, residents and neighbors.
Please see comments listed below for more detail.
Dover Town Planner, Graham Trelstad, AKRF
September 13, 2009
– DK DEIS Comment, Dover Town Planner Graham Trelstad, AKRF
Chiaritos, Evelyn and Joseph
September 13, 2009
– DK DEIS Public Comment: Evelyn and Joseph Chiarito
Audubon, Bedford, NY, James Nordgren
September 13, 2009
–DK DEIS Public Comment: Bedford Audubon Executive Director James Nordgren
Dover School District, Superintendent Craig Onofry
September 13, 2009
– DK DEIS Public Comment: Dover UFSD Superintendent Craig Onofry
Dover Volunteer Fire Department: JH Ketcham
September 13, 2009
– DK DEIS Public Comment: JH Ketcham FIre Dept
Dover Town Historian, Donna Hearn
September 13, 2009
– DK DEIS Public Comment: Dover Town Historian Donna Hearn
Dover Planning Board
September 13, 2009
– DK DEIS Public Comment: Dover Planning Board
American Lung Association
July 9, 2009
–DK DEIS Comment: American Lung Association
Appalacian Trail
July 9, 2009
– DK DEIS Comment Dutchess/Putnam Appalacian Trail Management Committee Chair, Jim Haggett
– DK DEIS Comment Dutchess/Putnam Appalacian Trail Management Committee
– DK DEIS Comment: National Park Service
Audubon New York
July 9, 2009
Coalition for the Responsible Growth of Dover
July 9, 2009
Includes Reports by CRGD’s experts:
“Hydrogeologic and Water Supply Assessment Report, The Knolls of Dover Development” by Thomas Cusack, Partner, Leggette, Brashears & Graham, Inc. LBG is the nation’s first consulting firm to specialize in hydrogeology.
“Fiscal Impacts of the Knolls of Dover,” by Chris Rembold, Phillips Preiss Shapiro Associates. PPSA is a planning and real estate consulting firm and was hired by the Harlem Valley Partnership, when Dover Knolls Liason Kathy Schibanoff was on the HVP Board. John Shapiro of PPSA submitted the report, “Economic Development in the Harlem Valley,” in November, 1991.
“Comments on Knolls of Dover DEIS and Related Documents” by Jeffrey S. Baker, partner, Young, Sommer LLC and counsel to CRGD.
– DK DEIS Comment: Coalition for the Responsible Growth of Dover
CT Department of Environmental Protection
July 9, 2009
– CT Department of Environmental Protection
Deuel Hollow Conservation Association
July 9, 2009
– DK DEIS Comment: Deuel Hollow Conservation Association
Dutchess County Department of Planning & Development
July 9, 2009
– DK DEIS Comment Dutchess County Department of Planning & Development
