Click here to see the latest Draft Environmental Impact Statement and other documents submitted by the developer of
Gan Eden Estates to the Town of Thompson Planning Board.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1UFhjUeFXkddInOAJA-Xr6gLBktBwe6xk
FROM THE MARCH 2022 ISSUE OF
THE HURLEYVILLE SENTINEL
HURLEYVILLE - The new DEIS (Draft Environmental Impact Statement) for Gan Eden Estates was the subject of the work session held by the Town of Thompson Planning Board on February 16, 2022.
Three Planning Board members, other Town of Thompson officials and attorney Paula Kay were present along with town consultants representing Delaware Engineering and McGoey, Hauser and Edsall. They reviewed the voluminous documents comprising the DEIS. The purpose of the work session review between the developer and the town was to determine if the statement and documents therein were complete, were accurate and met the requirements of the scoping document generated in 2020. The statement must thoroughly and accurately address environmental elements and concerns. The town is still waiting to hear back from their traffic and hydro geologic consultants as well. A technical review memo will be forwarded to the developer shortly to address the shortcomings in the DEIS.
Those present at the work session indicated that the DEIS is incomplete in its current form. Concerns with the DEIS submitted by Gan Eden Estates in January 2022 include:
It’s expected that Gan Eden Estates will be on the agenda for the Planning Board’s meeting on March 9, 2022. The Planning Board and the board’s consultants will then determine if the DEIS is complete and in agreement with the scoping document. If the DEIS is declared complete the completed statement along with all exhibits will be available for public review at www.townofthompson.com under the Public Documents/Development Projects tabs. A public hearing will then be scheduled.
There are approvals and permits required before acceptance of the project:
Permits and approvals must also be obtained from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the New York State Department of Health, New York Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
After approval the Planning Board will review the applicant's site plan application which will require another public hearing before any approval to allow site work to commence.
The members of CHNA will continue to review the DEIS and to provide input on this ongoing process.
THE HURLEYVILLE SENTINEL
HURLEYVILLE - The new DEIS (Draft Environmental Impact Statement) for Gan Eden Estates was the subject of the work session held by the Town of Thompson Planning Board on February 16, 2022.
Three Planning Board members, other Town of Thompson officials and attorney Paula Kay were present along with town consultants representing Delaware Engineering and McGoey, Hauser and Edsall. They reviewed the voluminous documents comprising the DEIS. The purpose of the work session review between the developer and the town was to determine if the statement and documents therein were complete, were accurate and met the requirements of the scoping document generated in 2020. The statement must thoroughly and accurately address environmental elements and concerns. The town is still waiting to hear back from their traffic and hydro geologic consultants as well. A technical review memo will be forwarded to the developer shortly to address the shortcomings in the DEIS.
Those present at the work session indicated that the DEIS is incomplete in its current form. Concerns with the DEIS submitted by Gan Eden Estates in January 2022 include:
- questionable calculation for water supply and demand
- questionable design and calculation for wastewater treatment plant
- environmental impact of wastewater discharge
- the structural integrity of the on-site dam
- potential impact to wetlands
- support of the habitat of the long-eared bat
- suspect demographic conclusions
- storm water runoff mitigation
- traffic
- community character
- cost community services
- fiscal impact
It’s expected that Gan Eden Estates will be on the agenda for the Planning Board’s meeting on March 9, 2022. The Planning Board and the board’s consultants will then determine if the DEIS is complete and in agreement with the scoping document. If the DEIS is declared complete the completed statement along with all exhibits will be available for public review at www.townofthompson.com under the Public Documents/Development Projects tabs. A public hearing will then be scheduled.
There are approvals and permits required before acceptance of the project:
- Town of Thompson Planning Board - SEQRA environmental review, site plan approval and special use permit
- Sullivan County – Section 239 review, access permit to County Routes 104 and 107
- Delaware River Basin Commission - water taking allocation permit
Permits and approvals must also be obtained from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the New York State Department of Health, New York Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
After approval the Planning Board will review the applicant's site plan application which will require another public hearing before any approval to allow site work to commence.
The members of CHNA will continue to review the DEIS and to provide input on this ongoing process.
FROM THE FEBRUARY 2022 ISSUE OF
THE HURLEYVILLE SENTINEL
KEEPING A WATCHFUL EYE
CHNA Monitoring Gan Eden Progress
by Roger Betters and Kathleen Sullivan
HURLEYVILLE – The Gan Eden Estates project was back on the agenda for the Town of Thompson Planning Board meeting on January 26, after being dormant for a year and a half. The Columbia Hill Neighborhood Alliance (CHNA), a group that was organized in 2012 in response to proposed developments on and near the hill, was well-represented at the meeting, both in person and via ZOOM.
The developers’ new Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), recently submitted to the Planning Board, was discussed at the meeting. The attorney for the development explained that the extensive scoping document has been followed, and that 24 exhibit reports were also submitted to the Board. He added that minor changes are being made to the site plan.
The members of CHNA have begun reviewing the new DEIS which is supposed to thoroughly and accurately address environmental factors and concerns.
Major concerns the group thinks will have a detrimental impact on the community include:
The Planning Board and the developer will participate in a work session via Zoom at 9 a.m. on February 16 to review the DEIS. The Planning Board and the Board’s consultants will then determine if the DEIS is complete and in agreement with the scoping document within 45 days. If the DEIS is declared complete, in March the completed statement along with the exhibits will be available for public review on the town’s website (www.townofthompson.com) under the Public Documents/Development Projects tabs. A public hearing will then be scheduled.
The approvals and permits that are required before acceptance of the project
include:
Permits and approvals must also be obtained from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the New York State Department of Health, New York Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
After approval the Planning Board will review the applicant's site plan application, which will require another public hearing before any approval to allow site work to commence.
The members of CHNA will continue to review the DEIS and to provide input on this ongoing process.
Visit CHNA on Facebook to learn how you can help to protect your environment and your community.
THE HURLEYVILLE SENTINEL
KEEPING A WATCHFUL EYE
CHNA Monitoring Gan Eden Progress
by Roger Betters and Kathleen Sullivan
HURLEYVILLE – The Gan Eden Estates project was back on the agenda for the Town of Thompson Planning Board meeting on January 26, after being dormant for a year and a half. The Columbia Hill Neighborhood Alliance (CHNA), a group that was organized in 2012 in response to proposed developments on and near the hill, was well-represented at the meeting, both in person and via ZOOM.
The developers’ new Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), recently submitted to the Planning Board, was discussed at the meeting. The attorney for the development explained that the extensive scoping document has been followed, and that 24 exhibit reports were also submitted to the Board. He added that minor changes are being made to the site plan.
The members of CHNA have begun reviewing the new DEIS which is supposed to thoroughly and accurately address environmental factors and concerns.
Major concerns the group thinks will have a detrimental impact on the community include:
- questionable calculations for water supply and demand
- questionable design and calculation for wastewater treatment plant
- environmental impact of wastewater discharge into an intermittently dry streambed that flows into the adjacent Hurleyville wetlands and then to the East Branch of the Mongaup River
- suspect demographic conclusions such as generating only 172 new students in the Monticello School District
- 534 rental units in 89 structures possibly leading to a transient population
- 2.5 miles of paved roads
- possibility of more than 3,000 residents rather than the 1,640 claimed by the developer at full build out
- 1,100 parking spaces
- storm water runoff mitigation
- traffic
- steep grade of Hurleyville Main Street by proposed entrances
- possible transformation of the intersection of County Routes 103, 104 and 107
- noise pollution
- light pollution
- electric grid capacity for the all-electric project
- 41-foot 400,000-gallon on-site water tank
- unrealistic estimate of completion of construction by 2027
The Planning Board and the developer will participate in a work session via Zoom at 9 a.m. on February 16 to review the DEIS. The Planning Board and the Board’s consultants will then determine if the DEIS is complete and in agreement with the scoping document within 45 days. If the DEIS is declared complete, in March the completed statement along with the exhibits will be available for public review on the town’s website (www.townofthompson.com) under the Public Documents/Development Projects tabs. A public hearing will then be scheduled.
The approvals and permits that are required before acceptance of the project
include:
- Town of Thompson Planning Board - SEQRA environmental review, site plan approval and special use permit
- Sullivan County – Section 239 review, access permit to County Routes 104 and 107
- Delaware River Basin Commission - water taking allocation permit
Permits and approvals must also be obtained from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the New York State Department of Health, New York Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
After approval the Planning Board will review the applicant's site plan application, which will require another public hearing before any approval to allow site work to commence.
The members of CHNA will continue to review the DEIS and to provide input on this ongoing process.
Visit CHNA on Facebook to learn how you can help to protect your environment and your community.
GAN EDEN RETURNS
Developer Presents New Environmental Impact Study
by John Conway
MONTICELLO – The town of Thompson Planning Board has received submission of a new Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) from the developers of the proposed Gan Eden Estates housing project slated for construction at the top of Columbia Hill in Hurleyville.
The new DEIS was part of the agenda when the Planning Board met in person and via ZOOM on Wednesday, January 26 at the Thompson Town Hall.
As it is currently conceived, the Gan Eden project calls for 534 rental units in 89 separate structures, and about 2.5 miles of paved roadways on the 212-acre site that was once home to the Columbia Hotel. Water for the development would come from new or existing wells and a 41-foot tall, 400,000 gallon water tank. A packaged sewage treatment plant is proposed for the all-electric development.
Developers say the project will provide much needed affordable workforce housing for this section of Sullivan County, and fully complies with Thompson’s zoning for the parcel on which It is proposed.
The Planning Board, which prior to receipt of the new DEIS, had last heard from the Gan Eden developers approximately 18 months ago, has scheduled a work session for 9 a.m. on Wednesday, February 16 to go over the new DEIS. Unless the Planning Board asks for revisions or additions to the plan, it would then be made available for public inspection and comment for a specified length of time, after which a public hearing on the project would be held.
Although public comment was not permitted at the January 26 meeting, a number of members of the Columbia Hill Neighborhood Alliance (CHNA) attended, some in person and others via ZOOM. The group was organized in 2012 in response to two developments with a total of more than 1000 units that had been proposed for Columbia Hill and vicinity at the time, and it has continued to monitor all proposed developments in the area. CHNA maintains that the Gan Eden project, even in the scaled-down version now being presented, “would deplete our water supply, greatly endanger our streams and wetlands, dramatically alter our rural environment, and undermine the safety of the roads for all drivers in the area.”
The CHNA’s concerns are more fully outlined in a separate piece in this edition of The Sentinel.
.
Developer Presents New Environmental Impact Study
by John Conway
MONTICELLO – The town of Thompson Planning Board has received submission of a new Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) from the developers of the proposed Gan Eden Estates housing project slated for construction at the top of Columbia Hill in Hurleyville.
The new DEIS was part of the agenda when the Planning Board met in person and via ZOOM on Wednesday, January 26 at the Thompson Town Hall.
As it is currently conceived, the Gan Eden project calls for 534 rental units in 89 separate structures, and about 2.5 miles of paved roadways on the 212-acre site that was once home to the Columbia Hotel. Water for the development would come from new or existing wells and a 41-foot tall, 400,000 gallon water tank. A packaged sewage treatment plant is proposed for the all-electric development.
Developers say the project will provide much needed affordable workforce housing for this section of Sullivan County, and fully complies with Thompson’s zoning for the parcel on which It is proposed.
The Planning Board, which prior to receipt of the new DEIS, had last heard from the Gan Eden developers approximately 18 months ago, has scheduled a work session for 9 a.m. on Wednesday, February 16 to go over the new DEIS. Unless the Planning Board asks for revisions or additions to the plan, it would then be made available for public inspection and comment for a specified length of time, after which a public hearing on the project would be held.
Although public comment was not permitted at the January 26 meeting, a number of members of the Columbia Hill Neighborhood Alliance (CHNA) attended, some in person and others via ZOOM. The group was organized in 2012 in response to two developments with a total of more than 1000 units that had been proposed for Columbia Hill and vicinity at the time, and it has continued to monitor all proposed developments in the area. CHNA maintains that the Gan Eden project, even in the scaled-down version now being presented, “would deplete our water supply, greatly endanger our streams and wetlands, dramatically alter our rural environment, and undermine the safety of the roads for all drivers in the area.”
The CHNA’s concerns are more fully outlined in a separate piece in this edition of The Sentinel.
.
THE WORLD WE PASS ON
Trading Short-Term Growth for Long-Term Liabilities
An Editorial by John Conway
HURLEYVILLE—All across America, many areas are building in a way that squanders precious resources that should be used to make our communities more prosperous, but instead trades short-term growth for long-term liabilities.
In a nutshell, that’s the message being conveyed by a growing grass-roots movement called “Strong Towns,” which maintains there is a better way for communities to grow.
It might at first seem like this problem—and therefore the potential solution-- is applicable only to big cities, but a closer look at what’s happening here in Hurleyville right now suggests otherwise.
The proposed Gan Eden development, slated to be built on the old Columbia Hotel property, has all the earmarks of just such a project: It is much bigger than anything else in the community-- too big for the location, it will use too much of the available natural resources, and it is a radical change that promises little upside to the existing community and its residents.
For example, the demand for potable water inherent in a development of that size is bound to stress the available supply, and negatively impact current residents and businesses. The run-off from the paved areas in the development is sure to create problems in an area that already suffers flooding during heavy rains and snow melts. The traffic generated by the new residents of the proposed development will drastically alter the typically tranquil nature of the areas roadways.
The Gan Eden project as proposed would be the very definition of disruptive change.
The tremendous revival of the hamlet of Hurleyville over the past ten years has been achieved primarily through the adaptive reuse and repurposing of existing buildings, most often one at a time. That tried-and-true method of redevelopment helps ensure long-term resilience of the community.
The proposed Gan Eden development does not.
Because its scale is out of proportion to the existing community, because its design is inappropriate for the rural nature of its location, because the natural resources it will demand will negatively impact existing stakeholders, and because incremental growth—as opposed to massive development—leads to a more stable and prosperous community, The Hurleyville Sentinel cannot support the Gan Eden development as it is currently proposed. There is simply too little upside from the project to offset the potential risks.
We think Hurleyville—and the town of Thompson-- would fare much better adhering to the “Strong Towns” model of paced, incremental development rather than recklessly trading short-term growth for long-term liabilities.
Trading Short-Term Growth for Long-Term Liabilities
An Editorial by John Conway
HURLEYVILLE—All across America, many areas are building in a way that squanders precious resources that should be used to make our communities more prosperous, but instead trades short-term growth for long-term liabilities.
In a nutshell, that’s the message being conveyed by a growing grass-roots movement called “Strong Towns,” which maintains there is a better way for communities to grow.
It might at first seem like this problem—and therefore the potential solution-- is applicable only to big cities, but a closer look at what’s happening here in Hurleyville right now suggests otherwise.
The proposed Gan Eden development, slated to be built on the old Columbia Hotel property, has all the earmarks of just such a project: It is much bigger than anything else in the community-- too big for the location, it will use too much of the available natural resources, and it is a radical change that promises little upside to the existing community and its residents.
For example, the demand for potable water inherent in a development of that size is bound to stress the available supply, and negatively impact current residents and businesses. The run-off from the paved areas in the development is sure to create problems in an area that already suffers flooding during heavy rains and snow melts. The traffic generated by the new residents of the proposed development will drastically alter the typically tranquil nature of the areas roadways.
The Gan Eden project as proposed would be the very definition of disruptive change.
The tremendous revival of the hamlet of Hurleyville over the past ten years has been achieved primarily through the adaptive reuse and repurposing of existing buildings, most often one at a time. That tried-and-true method of redevelopment helps ensure long-term resilience of the community.
The proposed Gan Eden development does not.
Because its scale is out of proportion to the existing community, because its design is inappropriate for the rural nature of its location, because the natural resources it will demand will negatively impact existing stakeholders, and because incremental growth—as opposed to massive development—leads to a more stable and prosperous community, The Hurleyville Sentinel cannot support the Gan Eden development as it is currently proposed. There is simply too little upside from the project to offset the potential risks.
We think Hurleyville—and the town of Thompson-- would fare much better adhering to the “Strong Towns” model of paced, incremental development rather than recklessly trading short-term growth for long-term liabilities.
