Threat in Deerpark:
Basher Kill Subdivision

Background
Orange County Holding Company, LLC is proposing to build 354 single-family units, two retail developments, and recreational facilities on an undeveloped site of 636 acres adjacent to the Basha Kill Wildlife Management Area. The development, known as the Basherkill Subdivision, is bounded by Route 211, Route 62 and Port Orange Road in the Town of Deerpark.

Updates

August 26, 2008
Public Hearing: Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2008, at 7pm at the Deerpark Town Hall on Rt. 209 in Huguenot, NY. The Town of Deerpark Planning Board will review the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Basherkill Subdivision. The DEIS is available at the developer’s website. To access it, go to townofdeerpark.org, click on “Planning Board,” then scroll down to "Basherkill Subdivision." Public comments will be accepted until October 31.

October 14, 2008
Consultants Say DEIS Falls Seriously Short
Consultants hired to review the Draft Environmental Impact Statement submitted by Orange County Holding Company for the Basherkill Subdivision report serious deficiencies in the report and warn of widespread negative impacts to the Shawangunk Ridge if the project proceeds. The studies were commissioned by the Basha Kill Area Association with support from the Shawangunk Ridge Coalition. You can read the full reports and/or executive summaries by clicking on the links below.
The next and last public hearing scheduled for this DEIS is set for Wednesday, Oct. 22, 7pm at Town of Deerpark Town Hall, 420 Route 209, Huguenot, NY 12746. You may also call or write with your concerns:
Phone (Town Hall): 845/856-2210
Fax: 845/856-1558
Email: townofdeerpark@hvc.rr.com
Planning board chair is Willard Wilson
The deadline for public comments on the DEIS is October 31.
Full Engineering Report by David Clouser Associates
Executive Summary by David Clouser Associates
Full Ecological Report by J. G. Barbour
Executive Summary by J. G. Barbour
Full Hydrological Report by Katherine Beinkafner, PhD, CPG, of Mid-Hudson Geosciences
Executive Summary by Katherine Beinkafner

Threat
Orange County Holding Company, LLC, proposes to construct 300 single-family houses, a retail center, and associated recreational amenities on a 689-acre Shawangunk Ridge parcel that is bordered by Route 211, County Route 61, and Port Orange Road in the Town of Deerpark. The project is known as the Basher Kill Subdivision.

This targeted development site contains two natural resources with the highest priority for protection and designated in New York State’s Open Space Plan: the Shawangunk Ridge and the Basha Kill Wildlife Management Area (BKWMA). Both are important water sources for surrounding towns, are home to rare and endangered species, and have high values for recreational uses. A small portion of the BKWMA abuts the tract targeted for development, while an unnamed tributary of the Basha Kill traverses the entire western section. Much of the land comprises very steep slopes: 9% having slopes with grades of 10-15%, and 33% having slopes with grades exceeding 15%.

Cultural resources that would be impacted by the project include the Delaware and Hudson (D&H) Canal, which parallels the tributary along Route 209, and the Shawangunk Ridge Trail, which coincides with County Route 61.

The undertaking’s location and expansive scale, which increases the likelihood of widespread negative impacts, caused Deerpark’s Planning Board, overseer of the project’s environmental process, to designate the Basher Kill Subdivision as an action under SEQR, necessitating the highest degree of scrutiny. A Scoping Hearing was held on June 29, 2005 to collect public input regarding the topics to be addressed in the Environmental Impact Statement; written comments from the public were accepted until July 20, 2005. The town planning board approved the final scope on August 10, 2005, and an EIS is now being prepared by the applicant.

POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF THIS DEVELOPMENT THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT (EIS)

water quality impacts from soil erosion including sedimentation to the Basha Kill stream and Neversink River due to runoff from construction and roads on steep slopes;

need for thorough biological inventories showing impacts to wildlife, plant and aquatic habitats;

traffic issues;

viewshed impacts from Route 209 and from the Basha Kill and from the Shawangunk Ridge;

sewage treatment issues;

aquifer depletion issues;

inventory of archeological resources;

lack of recreational facilities in the plan. (For example, the plan should include a recreational trail corridor through the property connecting the Orange County owned railbed in Deerpark to the continuation of this railbed in the Basha Kill WMA, which currently has the Shawangunk Ridge Trail on it. A corridor about a half mile in length along the Basha Kill stream would accomplish this.)