Scoping session for 53-lot Warwick Views subdivision continues

Deadline for written comments on proposal to build 53 houses is Monday Warwick — The scoping process has begun for the proposed Warwick Views subdivision, a 53-lot subdivision on Blooms Corners Road. The applicant, listed as Warwick Views LLC, is proposing to build 49 homes, along with four affordable homes, on the 280-acre parcel, which was known as the Stanford Farm and was sold in March. On April 13, the owners submitted the application to the town for the subdivision. Last week, the planning board heard comments from neighbors on the project’s draft scoping document, which is the first step in the process. Written comments will be accepted up until Monday, Oct. 16. The process is lengthy and there were several neighbors in the audience - members of ACCORD (Abutters and Concerned Citizens for Responsible Development) who were represented by their attorney, Ben Ostrer. “The County Planning Department suggested in its letter of April 2006 that the town look into the accumulating effect of development in the area,” Ostrer said. “And possibly the need for central sewer. The county also suggested attention be given to open space relating to other developments in the area. They should not be reviewed independently. I don’t see open space addressed in any way in the scoping document.” Neighbors see two projects ACCORD members have encouraged the planning board to consider this parcel along with the Luft farm, which recently received preliminary approval for 24 homes. The lands of Luft and Warwick Views back up into each other and the neighbors are worried about the area when these two are connected. Kirk Rother is the engineer on both projects and stated at a meeting last year that the roads would be connected. ACCORD has filed an Article 78 against the planning board, saying the board failed to do an adequate environmental review of the Luft property. It is being reviewed now. Ostrer said the board should also include the conservation board’s comments in the document, which echoed the County Planning Department. He also noted the board should indicate an alternative plan besides 49 cluster houses. The county, said Ostrer, also expressed concern at 49 homes, which is “conveniently below SPEDES permit.” “I think there is cause for the board to look at appropriate use of DEC SPEDES permit with relation to Luft,” Ostrer said. Water discharge According to the New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation Web site, New York has a program for the control of wastewater and storm water discharges in accordance with the Clean Water Act. Under New York State law, the program is known as the State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) and is broader in scope than that required by the Clean Water Act in that it controls point source discharges to ground waters as well as surface waters. The planning board had determined that the project might have a significant impact on the environment and required a detailed Environmental Impact Statement be prepared. The scoping procedure sets the stage for the information to be provided in the Environmental Impact Statement, according to Ted Fink, the town’s planner. When all comments are received and integrated into the document, a final scoping document is prepared and the applicant will perform water and traffic studies for the area. That final scoping document is used by the planning board to prepare the Environmental Impact Statement. There will be public hearings on the final environmental impact statement. The planning board prepares a written findings statement, which will include social and environmental advantages as well as negative effects on the area and its neighbors. “It is a lengthy and complicated process,” Fink said, “but this is the opportunity to have a say in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement.”