Landing strip for crop dusters gets approval

Goshen — Goshen town officials and farmers made a grand effort this month to push through a project that will enable Goshen, Warwick and Waywayanda farms to do their own crop dusting. Goshen’s town and planning boards engaged in a monthlong tug-of-war over which should come first: approving the two-acre subdivision off Celery Avenue where the landing strip would be built, or a special-use permit for the strip itself. Town lawyer Rick Golden advised the town board that, while both approvals would need to be closely coordinated, the special-use permit must come first. Special uses are projects that are allowed by the town’s zoning code, but require a permit after a review by the planning board. The town board had been withholding their approval, thinking the permit had to follow subdivision so that there would be a piece of land for the permit to relate to. Meanwhile, the planning board said it could not approve a site plan that did not have a use. While this chicken-and-egg controversy played out, black dirt farmers flew in a crop duster from Montgomery. With both boards claiming that the other was holding up the works, town officials considered granting a temporary emergency permit so that crop dusting could continue. After the town’s attorney clarified the procedure the town should follow, officials decided to hold a special town board meeting to expedite approval last Thursday. As expected, both boards approved the plan, with the condition that the owner is responsible for obtaining approvals from the state transportation department and the Federal Aviation Administration. Another condition is that the planes not fly over residential areas, with sprays used only for agriculture. The land for this air strip will be donated to the Orange County Growers Association by Rick Minkus of Gerrick Associates. While located in the Black Dirt region, this particular piece of land is known as “gray soil,” which has a cement-like quality not suitable for growing crops. The strip is already planted with grass for a plane to land on. It will be restricted for use by growers in Goshen, Waywayanda and Warwick. There will be a maximum of 175 to 200 flights per season, and no chemicals will stored on site. Local growers consider crop dusting by plane vital, especially when rain makes roads too muddy for spraying by a land vehicle.