Amenia Planning Board hears introductory Hudson River Housing plan

Town Hall in Amenia on Route 22.
Archive photo
Town Hall in Amenia on Route 22.
AMENIA — In addition to opening a pair of public hearings and then continuing them to its January meeting, the Amenia Planning Board at its regular meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 11, heard preliminary conceptual plans for Hudson River Housing to develop an affordable housing project to be known as Cascade Creek.
The first public hearing to be continued was to hear comments on plans for construction of an indoor pool at Troutbeck as part of Troutbeck’s Phase 8 construction planning. As a result of the continuation, comments will be heard during the January Planning Board meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 8.
Residents did offer comments on plans for a sign at a new business, Da Vinci Windows, located at 3430 Route 343. Leading off the discussion, John Andrews, Planning board Engineer, detailed plans for the recently renovated property to create a window showroom to the first floor and an apartment above.
The business sign was originally proposed to be internally lit, but that type of sign is prohibited by local sign regulations. The applicant changed the sign’s lighting design to include exterior lighting from the bottom, but the sign code specifies that the lighting needs to shine down from above.
Planning Board member Nina Peek said that the plan should be revised to show the proper sign design.
Neighboring property owners expressed concern about debris on the property and a paved driveway near a wetlands buffer. Other neighbors raised questions about sight lines being obstructed by the new sign, pointing to speeding traffic in that stretch of highway where a blind spot exists.
Representatives from Hudson River Housing of Poughkeepsie preliminarily described plans to develop acreage at 34 Cascade Road to offer workforce housing to first-time homebuyers.
“This is the first time this is in front of you,” Andrews said of the planning for the property that is zoned suburban residential.
“We are going to need Planning Board guidance,” Andrews said, adding that on-site water and septic are envisioned for what is planned as a conservation subdivision.
Of initial concern, Andrews said, is that the maps on file are inconclusive in showing acreage that the applicant is describing.
“We need to know the size of the parcel,” Planning Board Attorney Paul Van Cott said.
Andrews added that the applicant is proposing to construct homes to become workforce housing, and that any workforce housing plan must be referred to the Housing Board.
Architect Peter Zander, describing the Hudson River Housing project and accompanying vice-president Mary Linge, reported that four construction phases would be planned with seven homes to be built in each phase for a total of 28 homes, each on a one-acre lot.
Zander said that there are no wetlands on the parcel, no endangered species, and no archeological history.
Linge indicated that single-family homes are envisioned to be sold to first-time home buyers. She added that she understands the process and she and Hudson River Housing are prepared for the long haul.
Attorney Van Cott said he will study the conservation analysis.
Planning Board member Ken Topolsky praised the work of the applicant in presenting the cultural history of the land, dating back thousands of years, as part of their efforts to plan a conservation subdivision.
Zander said that a certified survey will expand upon the conservation narrative.
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.