Letter to Woodstock Town Board RE: Facility Siting
December 5, 2001
Jeremy Wilber
Supervisor, Town of Woodstock
Woodstock, New York 12498
Dear Jeremy,
I am writing on behalf of the Board of Directors of the Woodstock Land Conservancy regarding the Town Board’s proposal to site the future Highway Maintenance Facility on City of Kingston land next to the Wastewater Treatment Plant on Route 212. We have considered this matter carefully and believe that the Route 212 site is not an appropriate one.
It is extremely unusual for the Woodstock Land Conservancy to take a position on public policy. As you know, we own the Zena Cornfield and a conservation easement on Lisa Downer’s nearby fields bordering the Saw Kill, and we have been working to create a walking trail along the Saw Kill from Bearsville to Zena. Among other issues, we are concerned that the character of these properties and of this stream corridor - and the conservation values they represent - could be permanently altered by the proposed project. We urge you to consider the following facts as you lead the SEQRA process.
1. We contend that the proposed Highway Facility would be an inappropriate use of this land because it discounts the vitally important role that streamside vegetative buffers play in influencing water quality in general, and the quality of the lives of downstream residents of Woodstock, Ulster and Kingston, and residents of the City of Kingston in particular. Such streamside buffer areas, floodplains, and wetlands as those present on this property serve the critical function of intercepting shallow subsurface and overland flows from the upland areas. In doing so they slow and reduce floodwaters, they take nutrients up and trap it in their vegetation, they also trap silt and other sediments settling it out before it reaches the stream.
As you know, the Town Board and residents of Woodstock are considering the draft Wetland and Water course Protection Law at this time. The Town Board has found, in the section that describes the need for the law (Findings, Section II), that streams and wetlands and their buffers serve these functions. Section II also states, "The Town Board of the Town of Woodstock has determined that considerable acreage of these important natural resources has been lost or impaired by the cumulative effects of draining, dredging, filling, excavating, building, polluting, and other acts inconsistent with the natural uses of such areas. Remaining wetlands, watercourses and wetland/watercourse buffer areas are in jeopardy of being lost, despoiled or impaired by such acts, contrary to the public health, safety, and welfare."
We completely agree with the Town Board’s finding, but feel that the garage proposal is inconsistent with its own finding, and will contribute to the loss of the very stream and wetland buffer areas that it finds to be so critical. This loss is a slow process; individual decisions have been made over many years by individual landowners and the Town, in response to one seemingly isolated need at a time: to prevent an individual property or road from flooding; to provide needed gravel for a road construction project; to increase the stream’s ability to convey floodwaters; to provide land that is needed to build a public or private facility, and so forth. Incrementally and cumulatively, the unintended consequences of these individual decisions have led to the advanced deterioration of the Saw Kill. It will require a very strong act of political will and a strong voice of leadership to reverse this trend and restore the Saw Kill to its former biological vibrancy. We look to you and this Town Board to provide that leadership.
2. Putting the Highway Maintenance Facility so close to the Saw Kill would introduce the use of certain hazardous materials at that site, thereby establishing a new source of pollution to the Saw Kill, at the same time compromising a large natural -- and inexpensive -- filtering area for the removal of pollutants. Furthermore, it would be impossible to protect the new Facility from catastrophic flood events without berming the stream and adjacent floodplain, which would contribute to downstream erosion and flooding problems.
3. We have two concerns on behalf of our neighbors. First, this proposal purports to protect the Town’s drinking water supply by relocating the Highway Garage downstream from the Bearsville source area of our drinking water supply, so at first glance it seems a wise decision. But it may place an unfair burden on those who live downstream from the proposed site and depend upon the Saw Kill for drinking water, now or in the future. While the City of Kingston may not use the Saw Kill for drinking water supply now, the City does reserve the right to use it in emergency situations.
Our second concern is downstream flooding. This project will increase impervious surfaces (blacktopped roads and walkways, new roofs, etc.) adjacent to the Saw Kill by approximately four acres, and we are concerned that the stormwater detention system be large enough to protect our downstream neighbors from increased flooding. The Town of Kingston has informally asked, during meetings of the nascent Saw Kill Watershed Alliance, for Woodstock’s cooperation and help in addressing its flooding problem.
4. Another serious concern of ours is the future stability of the Saw Kill in this area. Should the City of Kingston choose to remove the stone dam retaining the now-defunct reservoir next to this site, the bed elevation of the Saw Kill will adjust for quite some distance, potentially one-half mile upstream and one-half mile downstream. This would result in a planned or unplanned adjustment of the slope of the river that requires changes in the river’s meandering pattern, its streambank stability, and its floodplain boundaries. We feel the Town Board should not take an action now that would unnecessarily complicate the consideration of removing or otherwise managing that dam in the future.
5. In our opinion, this proposed use has the potential to forever change the historically rural, agrarian character of the eastern gateway into town. The noise and diesel fumes the Facility will generate will affect not just residents of the eastern part of town; it will directly affect students at the Woodstock School of Art at the historic Art Students League of New York site. And the noise will very likely be heard from Big Deep and Little Deep, both popular recreation areas, and from the Zena Cornfield, a nationally known landmark that was purchased in 1989 by the Conservancy thanks to the contributions of over 550 individuals and families from every corner of Woodstock – and beyond. Another aspect of the change of character has to do with increased traffic. Most importantly, given the blind curves, limited sight lines and changing speed limits along this section of Route 212, slow-moving trucks and plows are bound to create hazardous conditions for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists alike.
6. This site offers tremendous potential as a multi-faceted park. Presently, the Conservancy is negotiating with the City of Kingston to extend our proposed streamside trail along this stretch of the Saw Kill, a truly unique and serene landscape rich with wildlife and plant life. This stunningly beautiful and ecologically important river corridor also provides a primary travel corridor for wildlife. In our opinion, the highest and best use of the proposed site and surrounding acreage is as conservation land and the associated recreational uses that such land affords - fishing and swimming, drawing and painting, walking and birding, picnicking and relaxing - and as a living laboratory and classroom for students of every age level.
7. More appropriate sites are available, and research into which one is best needs to be undertaken honestly and wholeheartedly. Rather than debate the relative merits of one location or another, we request that the Town Board undertake a careful appraisal of alternate sites including the former landfill, which had of course been approved by voters a few years ago and thoroughly studied by Clough, Harbour and Associates of Albany. It seems to us to make eminent sense, if it proves to be viable, to make use of this "brownfield" site – for which certain State funds may be available to address the environmental and health concerns of both the garage workers and abutting neighbors. Finally, if as we heard Comeau is under consideration, we urge you to prohibit another intrusive curb cut into that property, which would further degrade the rural character of the scenic corridor between Bearsville and Woodstock that is already under intense development pressure.
We recognize that this facility is critical to the town and that it must work for the Highway Department. We believe that the sensitive siting of the garage facility is equally critical and that both can be accomplished. On behalf of the Board of Directors I thank you for your thoughtful consideration of these issues as you and the Town Board continue to seek the best resolution of this often contentious and divisive matter. The Woodstock Land Conservancy stands ready to assist the Town any way we can.
Sincerely,
Michael DeWan
President, Woodstock Land Conservancy