Monthly Updates
This page is updated around the first of each month with a look at the month ahead, and recaps of months passed. Want this update in your inbox? Sign up for our mailing list at the bottom of this page!
July 1, 2026 Update
Zena Development May Appear in Woodstock & Town of Ulster
Zena Development may appear before the Town of Ulster Planning Board, where a SEQR declaration could be issued. Zena Development may also appear before the Woodstock Planning Board. The WLC’s appeal regarding Planning vs. Town Board review of Zena Development’s application may also be reviewed before the Town of Ulster Zoning Board of Appeals. To avoid confusion, we will announce meeting dates, times and locations when Zena Development has been finalized on meeting agendas.
Your attendance at these meetings matters! We deeply appreciate our community remaining engaged and attentive even with Zena Development’s ever-shifting meeting schedule. The developers want us to become exhausted by this process. We won’t let them succeed!
How to stay up-to-date about meetings:
1) Sign up for our mailing list below.
2) Before leaving for a meeting where Zena Development may appear, check the home page of our website! We always update the top of our website with the latest news so folks know if Zena Development has been removed from meeting agendas.
June 2026 Recap
NYS Supreme Court Ruling and Subsequent Appeal
In a decision issued June 2nd, NYS Supreme Court Judge Kevin R. Bryant ruled in favor of the Woodstock Land Conservancy, temporarily blocking the review of Zena Development’s application until the Town of Ulster provided a previously requested interpretation of which municipal body has jurisdiction over the project: the Town of Ulster Planning Board, or the Town Board. On June 8th, the Town of Ulster’s Building Inspector provided the Town of Ulster’s answer: the review of Zena Development’s application will remain with the Planning Board. On June 24th, the WLC appealed this decision to the Town of Ulster Zoning Board of Appeals. The WLC argues that the decision to keep the project review with the Planning Board violates the Town of Ulster’s own Town Code, and that due to the project’s size Zena Development should be reviewed by the Town Board. This case may be discussed at the next Zoning Board of Appeals meeting in July.
Why does this matter? As Jim Quigley recently told the Daily Freeman, the Town of Ulster Planning Board has NEVER issued a positive SEQR declaration. A positive declaration would be needed for a complete review of Zena Development's potential impacts on Woodstock and Ulster. As we have seen over the past few years, the Town of Ulster Planning Board is not equipped to review a project of this size.
Learn more:
Click here to read the WLC press release about the Judge Bryant’s ruling
Click here to read the Town of Ulster Building Inspector’s determination
Click here to read the WLC appeal to the Town of Ulster Zoning Board of Appeals
Supervisor Courtis & the Woodstock Town Board Request SEQR Cooperation from the Town of Ulster
At the June 2nd Woodstock Town Board Meeting, Supervisor Courtis presented a letter requesting that the Ulster Planning Board "give careful consideration to potential environmental and transportation impacts affecting Eastwoods Drive and other areas within the Town of Woodstock, consistent with its obligations under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA)." The Town Board members enthusiastically and unanimously agreed to send this letter to the Ulster Planning and Town Boards. This letter is comprehensive, displaying a deep understanding of this pressing issue and a deep care for our Woodstock community. Click here to read the letter.
Zena Development Did NOT Appear Before the Woodstock and Ulster Planning Boards
Zena Development was expected to appear before the Woodstock Planning Board and the Town of Ulster Planning Board, where we expected them to receive their SEQR declaration. However, Zena Development was not on the agenda in Woodstock or Ulster in June.
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Ulster Plans to End Environmental Review
At the Tuesday, 5/12 Town of Ulster Planning Board meeting Town of Ulster Town Planner Max Stach reversed his previously held stance. He explained that he no longer found the forest fragmentation caused by the subdivision to be significant enough to require a positive declaration. (A “pos dec” would require a thorough environmental review of Zena Dev’s project.) He recommended that the Planning Board take two actions at their upcoming 6/9 meeting: issue a negative declaration - ending the environmental review process - and THEN hold a public hearing. This means that the first public hearing held on Zena Development would not impact the Planning Board’s decision in the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR review) process. Click here to watch a recording of the meeting on our Youtube Page.
Woodstock Supervisor Anula Courtis Requests Coordination With Ulster
Woodstock Supervisor Anula Courtis attended the 5/21 Town of Ulster Town Board meeting to make a public comment requesting "direct and serious town-to-town discussion with Woodstock" before action on Zena Development moves forward. Click here to watch a recording of her statement on our Youtube Page.
Zena Development Threatens Woodstock Residents
Zena Development sent Woodstock police to the homes of two outspoken Stop Zena Development volunteers - Zoe and Tana - and sent a threatening letter and invoice to Tana. Click on each news outlet to read more from: Hudson Valley One, The Overlook and The Daily Freeman
Stop Zena Development on ‘Nature Nuggets’
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No News From the Town of Ulster
We expected Zena Development LLC to appear before the Town of Ulster Planning Board in April. We have been waiting for the Town of Ulster Planning Board to issue a “positive” or “negative” declaration in the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) process. Although the Ulster website initially seemed to indicate that Zena Development would be at the April Planning Board meeting, they were not at the meeting and no decision was made.
Sold Out Bread & Puppet Performance
Over 300 people filled the Woodstock Playhouse on April 18th for a fundraising performance by Bread & Puppet theater! Thank you so much to everyone who attended, to our event sponsors, and our event volunteers. Funds raised will help to cover Stop Zena Development’s legal fees in our fight to protect 625+ acres of forest.
Volunteers Record Data on Vulnerable Amphibians
Stop Zena Development led 27 volunteers on seven volunteer nights to record data on migrating frogs, toads and salamanders on Zena Highwoods Road. Volunteers counted a total of 1289 live amphibians, and recorded 328 deceased amphibians. The overwhelming majority of amphibians were migrating into Zena Development LLC's property. Nine different species were recorded, including four-toed salamanders, a NYS High Priority Species of Greatest Conservation Need. Click here to read more about this work in Stop Zena Development’s 2026 Amphibian Migration report.