By Nick Henderson April 10, 2024
Developers of a 30-home project in the Town of Ulster contiguous to Woodstock presented plans this week to Ulster’s planning board in front of an overflow audience. Since the meeting did not have time allotted for public comment, many from the group Stop Zena Development LLC held up signs, which prompted an admonition from Ulster supervisor James Quigley.
“Signs are not allowed. Please keep them down. That’s all I ask. I’m not taking them away from you. I’m not calling the police. Please take them down. That’s all I ask,” Quigley said. “I said, Take it down … In the back. Thank you.”
The signs were down.
At its organizational meeting in January, the town board had voted to ban the display of signs during meetings.
Should a site plan come up for approval, public hearings will be scheduled and people will have the opportunity to speak.
Aside from Stop Zena Development and Woodstock Land Conservancy, a number of environmental groups have joined the opposition, including Ulster Citizens, Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter, Overlook Mountain Center, Kingston Land Trust, Kingston Citizens, Friends of Bluestone Wild Forest and Catskill Mountainkeeper.
Members of the Ruby Rod and Gun Club, which owns about 400 acres adjoining the proposed subdivision, also attended. Its membership has voted not to allow access via its land.
Zena Development LLC, formerly known as Woodstock National LLC, proposes a 30-home subdivision on its 106.6-acre portion of land in the Town of Ulster. The developers recently dropped plans to seek to develop the remaining 520 acres in the Town of Woodstock.
The original plan was for about 191 homes, a golf course and a helipad, including about two dozen affordable units.
The proposed Ulster subdivision relies on access from Eastwoods Drive in Woodstock. The homes are in the Town of Ulster’s R-60 zone, which requires a minimum of 60,000 square feet per lot.
Amenities and services
Attorney Alec Gladd of Cuddy and Feder said the developer was proposing only a fraction of what is allowed by zoning, which is 77 units.
“So by not maximizing the development potential because this is a mostly forested site, we can maintain 72 percent of the 88 acres of existing forested area, and also what that means is that only results in seven percent of the site being new roads, buildings or other impervious surfaces,” Gladd said.
Recreational amenities, Gladd said, would include two pickleball courts, a tennis court, and a 2400-square-foot rec room and fitness facility.
Access to the subdivision will require a 1400-foot extension of Eastwoods Drive from Woodstock. A homeowners’ association (HOA) will be set up to maintain roads within the development, Gladd said.
The attorney said he believes all that was needed from the Town of Woodstock was a building permit to extend the road. He said the developers were awaiting word from Ulster’s building department.
The developers have consulted with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of Environmental Conservation, Army Corps of Engineers and the State Historic Preservation Office.
Consultation with the Ruby and Woodstock fire departments determined that the Zena firehouse, Company 4 in Woodstock, would get the most calls from the development. A payment from the homeowners’ association would offset the cost of responding to calls.
Fully self-sufficient?
Quigley recently pointed out that the only means of access to the proposed development would be through Woodstock, necessitating fire, police and ambulance responses from Woodstock. He has requested the towns of Ulster and Woodstock seek joint lead-agency status in state environmental review (SEQRA).
Through individual on-site wells and septic, an arrangement for the road systems, and payments for emergency services, “This development will be fully self-sufficient and not place any undue burden on either of the towns’ resident taxpayers,” Gladd said.
Stormwater management will be handled by three retention basins, according to engineer Walt Lippmann of MJ Engineering. Lots ranging from 1.3 to 11.51 acres in size would be accessed by tree-lined streets within the subdivision, Lippmann said. Tree clearing would be kept to a minimum.
Development principals Evan Kleinberg and Eddie Greenberg and their consultants were heckled on their way out. The signs went up again, despite Quigley’s admonitions. There were shouts of “Go build in Arizona” and “Get out of here.”
Quigley ordered police to escort the protestors out of the room. Many gathered outside.
Stop Zena Development co-chair Andy Mossey said the homeowners’ association represented a change in strategy. “In earlier talks, they said they wouldn’t be using an HOA, so that’s a definitive development here,” he said.
Mossey noted the payments to Woodstock would be in addition to HOA fees and Town of Ulster taxes paid by the homeowners. He also worried about the effect if the individual wells on the local aquifer..
“Who’s standing up for the water,” asked Karin Edmonson, standing outside holding a Stop Zena Development LLC sign.
The developers have filed a 13-page environmental impact statement with Ulster’s planning board. A development of this size requires Ulster town board approval.