Grafton Holds Public Hearing On Stonybrook Dyken Pond Subdivision

by Judith Radford

On a cool, crisp evening, October 20, at 6 pm, the Grafton Planning Board held its first public hearing on the proposed 27 lot major subdivision by Stonybrook Land, LLC now known as “The Lake at Sylvan Way.” All members of the Board were present with the exception of Tom Withcuskey and Scott Newell. Newell was in the audience but recused himself from the process as he was a resident of a previous subdivision and had been in litigation with Lipinski. According to Newell, that matter “is now settled; however, to be fair I felt I should recuse myself.”

The room was packed with interested citizens and in the front row, awaiting questions, was David Lipinski, owner and developer of this project. In early 2008, Stonybrook Land LLC applied for the 27 Lot Major Sub-division. At that time, Lipinski informed the Board of improvements and progress at the site. He also presented a revised map of the re-location of Sylvan Way and added acreage for lake frontage. The Board members agreed to a special on site visit which occurred on September 3. 

Following the Pledge of Allegiance, Chairman Owen “Skip” Grandjean called the first speaker. Atshusi Akera, Grafton resident, began by telling the Board that Lipinski had been very cooperative and worked in collaboration with residents and the Town to improve the water control by agreeing to put in culverts. He went on to say that Lipinski’s marketing of the development will be as a “green” community and he felt this would encourage people to appreciate the beautiful Dyken Pond area. He said the developer’s plan to preserve a large portion of this land for non-development would play an important part in mitigation during the Environmental Assessment process. Akera wanted to note some important areas. Number 1, he believes it is important for the restrictive covenants of the deeds to be enforceable by the Town. Sal Ferlazzo, Town Attorney, said he has determined a Local Law can and must be developed so prospective buyer  knows there will be covenant enforcement. Number 2, Akera believes the Planning Board must make its own decision on the density of population within the proposed development.

Sean Munz of South Long Pond Road said he has two concerns. He said he wants covenant statements to be enforceable and that something must be done about the dangerous intersection which will become more dangerous as this project progresses. He said he had heard that the developer has agreed to put down 2,500 cubic yards of gravel on the road as a one time coating and to get a water sprayer for the Town to maintain the road. Munz does not believe this will be enough to make this road safe or keep it viable as a road for any length of time. Munz went on to say that the developer’s repetition of stating there will be more than one acre dedicated to conservation use does not mean there is any guarantee of conservation held in perpetuity. He said the Planning Board should not be swayed by this repetition but rather there are serious issues to address and it’s important to determine if conservation measures are included.

Marjory Wise appeared with a letter written by Rachel Raymond, who could not be present. Her letter stated she was appreciative of the developer marketing the project as a “green” housing development. However, she went on to say an enforcement plan must be undertaken and the issue of wildlife habitat should be addressed in the Environmental Assessment Analysis. She agreed that setting aside acreage for conservation was an important step.

Resident David Hunt made a presentation as to how this project will affect the decline in Grafton’s forests. Over the years, in his work with the County, he has been dealing with the habitat of fishers, bears and other wildlife uniquely found in this area. He stated that according to the H3 Grafton Master Plan of the early 90s the impact of development on the continuous forest interior and waters edge has been reduced from 4,000 acres to 3,000 (which includes three forest areas) that are part of the wildlife corridor. The Lake at Sylvan Way will reduce this corridor from 7 tenths of a mile to 4 tenths of a mile and the 100 foot green buffer is hanging by a thread. He said there were 6 or 7 corridors for wildlife movement, with one shutting down completely. He said it is vitally important for the Board to figure out how to implement the Master Plan in order to protect the character of Grafton’s woodlands and to protect wildlife. 

Lawrence Howard appeared to represent a specific property owner. He said the Draft Environmental Assessment includes an Alternative Analysis; however, as defined by regulation and the courts, this will not stand a legal test and an Alternative Analysis that does comply must be included.

Herbert Hasbrouck, Grafton Highway Superintendent, said he has been working with Lipinski on the impact of the development, dust control and safety of residents. He said tonight is the first time he has heard any specific tonnage figure for gravel from the developer. He said he is also working with Russ Reeves, Town Engineer, and added that Fred Howard, Rensselaer County Engineer, is also in discussion with them in this matter. He said there are bridge issues and also when the properties are being built, heavy traffic will take a toll on the road since Grafton has a long mud season. He said, “It doesn’t take long to tear a road apart.”

Russ Reeves said the parameters of this project must be definitively established in order for this development to be improved. Ferlazzo said the communication and collaborative efforts of everyone involved from the developer to the Town Boards to the residents could be a model for future large developmental processes. 

Resident Bill Boise said he is concerned with the intersection at Banker School Way and South Long Pond Road. He said presently there isn’t much traffic; however, when the development begins traffic will increase and so will the danger. He said that the line of sight when coming from the east to make a right hand turn is terrible. Hasbrouck said that some effort is being made for Boise to sell off a small portion of his land to the developer to improve this line of sight thus alleviating this situation. This has not happened yet.

Resident Andrea Miller, an owner of property first purchased through First Grafton, stated that the new development is much more dense than had been approved previously. She said while Lipinski had been very cooperative there are still issues that have not been addressed. Miller’s husband, Alan Hasbrouck, spoke about his mixed experience with Stonybrook. He said representations that were made have yet to be resolved. He has studied maps of the area, and his property is a part of the first development where properties were at least four acres, most of them more. His acreage is nine. He said the proposed lots are double stacked and that the increased density will have a significant visual impact from the lake. He said the average waterfront for each property will be about 260 feet for the new development while the previous water frontage is 446 feet. He said this works out to 42 percent less shared and 171% more dense. Hasbrouck said that the Lake at Sylvan Way project has one house per every 2.3 acres within 600 feet of the water and the previous development had one house for every 4.7 acres within 600 feet of water. This works out to 204 percent more density of homes within 600 feet of the water’s edge. He said that given the added shape of interlocking lots will there be some intent to preserve trees. He said, “It seems the priority of the developer was how many houses can we squeeze in here to preserve the character of the Town and the lake?” Hasbrouck said the Town of Grafton has to have enforcement authority over covenants but right now he believes the project is headed in the wrong direction for the community as a whole.

Pierce Hoyt spoke about ground water concerns. He said when the wells for the other development were being dug, there was incredible sediment run off that went into the lake. He said there is a lot of water moving through this area and it will be important to monitor this process.

Lois Gundrum, former member of the Planning Board, stated her opinion that it will be extremely important for the Local Law to be written so that the Town has enforcement authority over deed covenants. 

Chairman Grandjean said, “We are not at the end of the process and residents have until November 7 to send letters of concern to the Board.” The Special Public Hearing was adjourned at 7:05 pm.

After a two minute break, the Regular Meeting of the Planning Board commenced at 7:07 pm. Member Scott Newell rejoined the panel. Minutes of September’s regular meeting and the Special Meeting held on October 1 were approved unanimously.

J. Craig Alexander and Betsy Colvin appeared regarding their application for a minor subdivision. Alexander asked if the Board had heard from the Department of Environmental Conservation, and Grandjean reported they had not. Since no action can be taken until this happens, the project was tabled until November.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:15 pm.