WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Jesse King
Published February 7, 2025 at 1:11 PM EST
A proposed development in the town of Ulster has created friction between developers and conservationists in Ulster County. As WAMC Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Jesse King reports, the issue could land at the Woodstock Planning Board soon.
Zena Homes, formerly Woodstock National, LLC, bought more than 620 acres spanning the towns of Ulster and Woodstock in 2023.
Business partners Evan Kleinberg and Eddie Greenberg say they initially approached the Woodstock Planning Board with a sketch that included a golf course and more than 150 homes and townhouses, but they got pushback. So now, they’re trying for a smaller development of 30 units on just over 100 acres in the Ulster section of the property. Kleinberg says six of the lots could be duplexes, but otherwise they’re proposing single-family homes.
"I was interested and excited to start exploring ways in which I could use my real estate experience to make whatever dent I could in the local housing shortage," says Kleinberg.
The Hudson Valley, like the rest of New York state, is struggling with a housing crisis, but opponents of the Zena development say it would hurt the local environment.
Andy Mossey, executive director of the Woodstock Land Conservancy, says the organization has been trying to buy and protect the land for years. He says the Ulster parcel is the most important part, because it’s surrounded by protected forest.
“Basically it allows for more natural cycles for animals and birds and so on," Mossey explains. "In addition to that, it’s also filled with wetlands and creates ‘aquifer recharge zones,’ which is very critical for that area, due to the fact that a lot of the aquifer in that immediate location actually can draw down during drought conditions.”
Because the parcel is landlocked, it is only accessible by Eastwoods Drive, a private road in the town of Woodstock — which is part of why the project still needs approval from the Woodstock Planning Board. Zena Homes wants to extend and widen the road. The WLC appealed its application to do so last year, and the case ended in a tie vote by the Woodstock ZBA. A member of the Planning Board declined to speak about the issue on the record Thursday.
Mossey says it should be an open-and-shut case: he says the extended road would be more than a mile long, and violate the town's building code.
“Under Building Code 202-32, a cul-de-sac road or dead-end road must be restricted to a length of 2,000 feet," adds Mossey.
Asked how long the road would be, Kleinberg and Greenberg say they don't know yet, but they maintain it will be built to code.
There’s plenty more for lawmakers to consider. Any homes on the development would pay Ulster taxes, but since the only access point is Eastwoods Drive, they could end up relying on Woodstock for timely maintenance and emergency services. Kleinberg says Zena Homes is considering remedies for that, including a Home Owners Association that could handle road maintenance and pay Woodstock for any additional services.
“I’ve lived in subdivisions in other states with HOAs," says Keisha Hoerrner with the WLC. "I will just say there’s zero guarantee Woodstock will see the money for EMS, and there is a very valid concern that Eastwoods Drive will not be maintained.”
The “Stop Zena Development Coalition,” a group that includes the WLC, held a virtual meeting this week to further detail its concerns. They say the development would restrict the nearby Ruby Rod & Gun Club, and heighten traffic for hikers and bicyclists in the area. They dispute the number of units Zena Homes says it wants to build, saying the Ulster parcel is zoned for as many as 77 units. And they’re skeptical of how helpful it would be in fighting the housing crisis.
“We need to build affordable housing that will allow those who work here to live here," says Gail Albert, a member of the coalition's steering committee. "We don’t need a private enclave with its own 2,400-foot rec center, tennis court and pickleball courts, in the middle of a forest at the end of a mile-long private road.”
Greenberg says Zena Homes hasn’t decided on home types or pricing yet, but he adds, "The longer this takes, and the more money that’s spent to get there, the more we are gonna have to get back from it.”
Kleinberg says he and Greenberg have spoken with the WLC multiple times hoping to find a compromise. Kleinberg says they offered to preserve two-thirds of the total property if the WLC worked with them on the remaining third.
“The exact response was like, ‘You’re a third short. We don’t want you to build on anything,'" Kleinberg adds. "Ultimately, if we can’t build on this, we’ll sell it to somebody who has way more resources than us and way more cash than us, who cares way less about the community, and they’ll build on every single acre because the zoning allows them to.”
Mossey says the WLC and the Stop Zena Development Coalition are open to working with Zena Homes if it considers moving its plans out of the Ulster parcel, to another section of the property. Asked whether he’s worried Zena Homes could sell to a larger company, Mossey offers an alternative.
“I would really hope that they consider selling the land to us," he says. "We think we can come to a mutual agreement on a price, as long as they’re willing to. And hopefully they would be able to find another area that would tick all the boxes that they’re looking for and would create a lot less opposition than an area that is so centrally core in habitat and forest.”
The Woodstock Planning Board’s next meeting is scheduled for February 20 at 6 at the Town Office Building on Comeau Drive.