Silo Ridge - Harlem Valley Times

2/07/2008 - Silo Ridge hearing may continue in March

Amenia
Silo Ridge hearing may continue in March
2/07/2008
By: Jennifer Barry, Staff Reporter

A recent special Amenia Planning Board meeting kept board members and consultants in discussion far into the night.

A majority of the discussion revolved around the Silo Ridge development and its preliminary Master Development Plan (MDP), while the last hour was dedicated to dealing with the Trust Republic land application, which could allow for the creation of a park along the bank of the Ten Mile River.


Silo Ridge discussion

"I thought the meeting went well," said Mike Dignacco, vice president of construction for Millbrook Ventures, the development firm heading up the Silo Ridge project.

"The planning board gave us direction on a few administrative items to clean up our preliminary Master Development Plan," he said.

Planning board Chairman George Fenn said that the preliminary MDP will need to be revised to make it easier to understand for the general public.

"This revised plan will be more user-friendly because it needs to be submitted to public scrutiny," said planning board Chairman George Fenn. "Therefore, they (Millbrook Ventures) are going to make a number of changes to make it easier to understand."

If the plans go through, the 670-acre Silo Ridge community will consist of 359 single-family residences, as well as a 300-unit condominium-style hotel, around a redesigned golf course.

Despite the new construction that the development will inevitably entail, 80 percent of the land will be open space.

"We will apply very high green building standards," said Dignaccio, noting Millbrook Venture's dedication to conservation and energy-efficient construction to local residents.

Once the planning board accepts the preliminary MDP, it will be submitted for public review.

The board closed the Silo Ridge discussion by agreeing to schedule a continuum of the public hearing which was held in November.

The date discussed was March 5, however this will be confirmed at the planning board's next meeting on Feb. 7 at 7 p.m.

Once the MDP is finalized, the public will also have an opportunity to comment at a future hearing.

The Silo Ridge project could help the town create a sewer system, allowing for the potential expansion of the business district and the creation of a "walkable" town center. Millbrook Ventures is donating a wastewater treatment plant to the town, valued at approximately $7 million.

Building of the resort is expected to create 1,400 construction jobs until 2012, the projected completion date, as well as 228 full-time jobs.


Park discussion

The board discussed the Trust Republic land application for the last hour of the meeting.

"This application is regarded as enormously attractive by everyone. There is no thought of it being rejected or re-altered in any major way," said Fenn.

In this deal, there are two lots up for potential development.

The first of these lots will be sold to a buyer who intends to use the land for farming. The second lot will be conveyed to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

The intention is to use the land as a park that will extend along the bank of the Ten Mile River.

"We want people to be able to have access to this land. With the planned park, people will be able to swim in the river and generally enjoy themselves," Fenn explained.

However, ecological consultant Dr. Michael Klemens expressed a concern that with the flooding of the river, the park will be difficult, if not dangerous, to walk along.

Fenn admitted that this concern had not been considered when the project was first proposed.

Despite this snag, Fenn expressed that all involved are very anxious to see this project pass.

The land up for development is an open field on the eastern side of Route 22, leaving Dover.

"With this park, the land will be open to an extent that it never has before in that the public will actually have access to it," said Fenn. "We will reconvene again next Thursday and see where we are. This is a very attractive and beneficial development if we can make it work."