Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on July 23, 2020

Chris McKenna|Times Herald-Record

SOUTH BLOOMING GROVE - Village officials plan to field public comments on the 600-home Clovewood proposal in person rather than hold an online hearing on a development that could more than double South Blooming Grove's population.

The village announced in a notice posted on its website Tuesday that it will hold the hearing at 7:05 p.m. on Aug. 10 and limit the audience to 25 people, since about 25 representatives of the village and developer will be there and public gatherings can't exceed 50 people under New York's coronavirus rules.

Officials plan to hold additional hearing sessions if necessary to accommodate anyone who wants to speak but can't because of the restriction on how many people can attend.

"Everyone will be given their opportunity to be heard," Village Clerk Kerry Dougherty said Tuesday.

The developer, known as Keen Equities LLC, plans to build homes for the Satmar Hasidic community on an expanse of vacant land off Clove Road and Route 208 that used to be Lake Anne Country Club. Consultants estimate Clovewood ultimately could house more than3,800 people if accessory apartments are built onto every four-bedroom house.

Keen Equities is an investor group that bought Lake Anne in 2006 for $15 million. The development would take up about 142 acres of the 708-acre property.

The hearing - originally set for next Monday and then postponed - is being held on the developer's draft environmental impact statement, a huge analysis of the project's infrastructure needs and potential effects that was first submitted more than two years ago and revised last year. The documents are posted online at clovewood.com.

The only recent addition is a 13-pageaddendum submitted to the village in February that dropped two ideas village officials had questioned: a road connection to an adjacent neighborhood and backup plan to pipe drinking water from nearby Kiryas Joel.

The developers, who plan to tap wells on their property to supply water to the homes, say in the addendum they will no longer explore the alternative of building a pipeline to Kiryas Joel to connect to its water system. They alsoeliminated a proposed road connection to Arlington Drive other than one that only emergency vehicles could use.

The public hearing will be held by the Village Board and Planning Board, which are jointly reviewing the Clovewood application, and take place at the South Blooming Grove firehouse at 819 Route 208. Everyone who attends must wear masks and follow social distancing directions.

Anyone who wants to speak must register by 3 p.m. Aug. 9 by calling Dougherty at782-2600 or emailing her at clerk@villageofsouthbloominggrove.com. Written comments - accepted up to three days before the hearing and for 10 days afterward - may be emailed to her or mailed to Village Hall at811 Route 208 Monroe, N.Y. 10950.

See original here:

South Blooming Grove plans in-person public hearing on 600-home Clovewood project - Times Herald-Record

Category: Hasidic
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