Planning Board meets new Silo Ridge management, introduces local cannabis regulation

Town Hall on Route 22 in Amenia.
Photo by John Coston
Town Hall on Route 22 in Amenia.
AMENIA — Recent changes to the Silo Ridge management team prompted the Amenia Planning Board to meet the new team members at the board’s regular meeting Thursday, Sept. 25.
The board also held preliminary discussions on a proposed local law to regulate distribution of cannabis.
Although he retired 16 months ago as Silo Ridge project engineer, Patrick O’Leary interrupted his retirement to serve as consultant to the organization as it introduces a new leadership team. Acting as a consultant for Silo Ridge Ventures, he is assisting with the transition period. O’Leary attended the planning board meeting to introduce members of that new team.
Introduced were Mike Clark, Sr. Vice-President for Development, Silo Ridge Ventures; Saul Scherl, President, Silo Ridge; Zach Winick, Sr. Vice-President, Operations and Development, Silo Ridge Field Club; and Richard Fricke, Project Chief Financial Officer, Silo Ridge. Also present was Michael Ryan, General Manager, Silo Ridge, a continuing member of the team.
O’Leary explained that although there were changes to the management team, there has been no change in Silo Ridge ownership.
“We must work together to achieve goals,” said Scherl, suggesting a new and improved relationship with town officials.
“We are eager to work with the town in a collaborative way,” Scherl added.
Clark echoed the sentiment, indicating that the team is eager to receive the planning board’s input. He said that Silo Ridge is coming up with a new concept and plan, what he termed a “thoughtful design.”
“We are working toward elevating the community and making it fit together,” Clark said.
O’Leary said that the team is re-thinking aspects of the original Silo Ridge planning and would be preparing a revised master plan for future presentation to the Planning Board.
Planning Board member Ken Topolsky, who also serves on the Comprehensive Plan Review Committee, suggested that people who live within the Silo Ridge Community no longer be considered “members.”
“Are they not residents of Amenia?” he asked.
Feeling that an overall organizational chart defining the Silo Ridge business structure would be helpful to the Planning Board, member Nina Peek asked that such a chart be submitted.
O’Leary agreed, adding that he is preparing a status review report showing existing development, scheduled development and envisioned development.
Board member Walter Dietrich suggested that a summary be prepared to describe the Silo Ridge organizational structure to assist local residents in understanding the various elements.
Having received a draft of a local law that would seek to determine a possible location for a cannabis distribution retail establishment and determine as well whether a cannabis grower might be permitted to sell on his own acreage, the Planning Board opened discussion of the drafted law that had been prepared by Town Attorney Ian Lindars and AKRF Consulting.
The Town Board had agreed to preparation of the drafted local law and that it be sent on to the Planning Board for comment.
Planning Board engineer John Andrews said that he felt that the draft law needs to be expanded in detail.
“Do you think you as a Planning Board are better able to look at issues related to an eventual site plan?” Andrews asked.
Board member Peek felt that the Planning Board should retain the responsibility for site plan approval and she sought clarification of regulations, feeling that the local law draft would need to be fleshed out.
The maps attempting to define possible sites in view of separation rules where the state requires that any distribution point stand a determined distance from public entities including schools, houses of worship, parks, playgrounds were also discussed. While the maps showed separation measured by radius, Peek wanted that measurement method examined further.
Town Board liaison to the planning board, Rosanna Hamm, agreed that measurement methods might be examined and reiterated her concerns about parking.
Andrews advised that several towns have required any applicant to obtain a state license before pursuing final approval from the towns.
Planning Board attorney Paul Van Cott commented that the board had been invited to conduct an informal review of the local law draft and to send their comments back to the Town Board. He noted that the planning board will have an opportunity to review the drafted law later in the process.
“It’s a more complicated calculus,” Peek observed, involving location, lighting and parking.
“The site plan is an essential element in making this work,” Andrews said.
Built in 1820, 1168 Bangall Amenia Road sold for $875,000 on July 31 with the transfer recorded in August. It has a Millbrook post office and is located in the Webutuck school district.
STANFORD — The Town of Stanford with nine transfers in two months reached a median price in August of $573,000 for single family homes, still below Stanford’s all-time median high in August 2024 of $640,000.
At the beginning of October there is a large inventory of single-family homes listed for sale with only six of the 18 homes listed for below the median price of $573,000 and seven above $1 million.
July transfers
79 Ernest Road — 4 bedroom/2.5 bath home on 6.87 acres in 2 parcels sold to Matthew C. Marinetti for $1,225,000.
29 Drake Road — 3 bedroom/3.5 bath home on 2 acres sold to Harper Montgomery for $850,000.
6042 Route 82 — 4 bedroom/2 bath home on 1.09 acres sold to Spencer Thompson for $795,000.
125 Tick Tock Way — 3 bedroom/2.5 bath ranch on 1.9 acres sold to Fleur Touchard for $475,000.
August transfers
102 Prospect Hill Road — 3 bedroom/2 bath home on 6.35 acres sold to Karl Creighton Pfister for $565,000.
252 Ernest Road — 2 bedroom/1 bath cottage on .85 acres sold to Meg Bumie for $465,000.
1196 Bangall Amenia Road — 4 bedroom/2.5 bath home on 2.16 acres sold to Roderick Alleyne for $875,000.
Hunns Lake Road (#759929) — 59.1 acres of residential land sold to Argos Farm LLC for $3,325,000.
* Town of Stanford recorded real estate transfers from July 1 to August 31 provided by Dutchess County Real Property Office monthly transfer reports. Details on each property from Dutchess Parcel Access - properties with an # indicate location on Dutchess Parcel Access. Market data from One Key MLS and Infosparks .Compiled by Christine Bates, Real Estate Advisor with William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty, Licensed in Connecticut and New York.
Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office Harlem Valley area activity reportSept. 18 to Sept. 30.
Sept. 23 — Deputies responded to 1542 State Route 292 in the Town of Pawling for the report of a suspicious vehicle at that location. Investigation resulted in the arrest of Sebastian Quiroga, age 26, for aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the third degree. Quiroga to appear in the Town of Pawling court at a later date.
Sept. 30 — Deputies responded to Woodside Street in the Town of Pine Plains for a past-occurred verbal domestic dispute between a stepfather and stepson.Matter resolved without further police intervention.
PLEASE NOTE:All subjects arrested and charged are alleged to have committed the crime and are presumed innocent until proven guilty and are to appear in local courts later.
If you have any information relative to the aforementioned criminal cases, or any other suspected criminal activity please contact the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office tip line at 845-605-CLUE (2583) or Emaildcsotips@gmail.com.All information will be kept confidential.
Hunt club members and friends gathered near Pugsley Hill at the historic Wethersfield Estate and Gardens in Amenia for the opening meet of the 2025-2026 Millbrook Hunt Club season on Saturday, Oct. 4. Foxhunters took off from Wethersfield’s hilltop gardens just after 8 a.m. for a hunting jaunt around Amenia’s countryside.
Joining in the fun at the dedication of the new pollinator pathway garden at The Millbrook Library on Saturday, Oct. 4, local expert gardener Maryanne Snow Pitts provides information about a planting to Lorraine Mirabella of Poughkeepsie.
MILLBROOK — Participating in a patchwork of libraries that have planted pollinator pathway gardens to attract insects and birds to their native plantings was one of the accomplishments being celebrated at the dedication of a new pollinator garden at the Millbrook Library on Saturday, Oct. 4.
“A lot of work went into it,” said Emma Sweeney, past President of the Millbrook Garden Club, who started the local library’s initiative two years ago.
The Pollinator Pathway program is a national effort to plant native plants that native insects depend upon for sustenance and preferred plants for their own seasonal reproduction.
Jana Hogan of Ridgefield, Connecticut, Executive Director of the Pollinator Pathway program, was on hand to present a plaque to the library for its successful participation.
“A garden is not just a garden,” said garden designer Andy Durbridge of Wassaic, designer of the library’s garden. “It may serve as a model for other gardens along the line.”
Speaking to the 50 visitors at the dedication, Durbridge said that the library’s garden has a mission, that it is a working garden, planned to serve insects and birds over their seasons. The earliest plants support pollinators, while the full range of plants continues to serve the needs of those they attract, offering habitat, shelter and food.
A pollinator garden is akin to a prairie, rather than a formalized European garden, Durbridge noted.
The garden project was supported by the library’s Friends group using funds raised during the Holiday Silent Auction and ongoing book sale. A grant from the Millbrook Garden Club also provided support.