July 27, 2005

Kent Manor

By Maureen Fleming

As residents of the Hill and Dale Country Club and members of the Hill and Dale Property Owners, Inc., we oppose the development known as Kent Manor, formerly Kent Acres, which is to be built on Nichols Street in the Town of Kent. Our property owners corporation met with the developer’s representatives on July 16, 2005. The following concerns surfaced in our community following such meeting. We believe that these concerns MUST be addressed by the Town.

According to the developer, no environmental impact studies have been done since prior to the 1989 settlement stipulation.

The developer is planning to dump 25 million gallons/year of treated effluent into Palmer Lake. In a heavy rain, overflow will run into Palmer Lake, increasing the bacteria level to unhealthy levels, as happened in Lake Secor on July 19, 2005.

• New DEC Wetlands mapping identifies a new major wetland on the site. Additional DEC wetlands permits will be required.
• The access road to the development, which will open onto Route 52, directly across from the Hill and Dale Country Club, will be constructed of impervious materials. Stormwater catchbasins along such road will drain into Palmer Lake according to the development's engineer.
• The developer represented that all necessary permits were in effect for the project, however DEC Stream Disturbance permit has long expired and must be re-applied for
• Town of Kent Building permits have expired
• The status of DOT permits has not yet been clarified
• No traffic density studies have been done since 1988.
• The access road of 303 unit development will make it nearly impossible for residents of Hill and Dale to access Route 52 during rush hour.

Apart from the specific concerns of Hill and Dale residents, the Town Board should also take into consideration the following points:

• The development has not paid taxes to the Town since the mid-1990's.
• Traffic from a 303 unit development will place additional stress on an already overtaxed infrastructure, not only on Route 52 but town roads, such as Towners Road, as well.
• The burden on our already overburdened school system that such a development will create, leading to increased class sizes, and perhaps involving capital expenditures to accommodate the additional students.

The residents of Hill and Dale pay taxes and vote. It is the obligation of our Town Board to actively protect our interests. We urge the members of the Town Board to continue to refuse to stipulate to allow this development and to actively challenge it. A petition is being circulated within Hill and Dale attesting to the residents' concerns.

We look forward to your support in this matter.

In addition, subsequent to writing the letter I found out that

DEC is currently reviewing whether the it will treat the application for renewal of the SPDES permit as a new application, in light of the fact that the ownership of the property has changed hands

The site plan for the development has expired