Farmland vista where the proposed 42 megawatt Shepherd’s Run Solar Farm is planned along Route 23 at the entryway to the rural hamlet of Copake. Opponents say the project would detract from the scenic farmland community.
COPAKE — Town of Copake Supervisor Richard Wolfe reported that Hecate Energy LLC plans to seek a siting permit for a 42 megawatt (MW) solar project after the company’s plan was turned down by the state last month.
The project, called Shepherd’s Run, was originally designed as a 60MW facility that would be situated near the intersection of Routes 23 and 7.
The New York state Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) on Feb. 6 dismissed the company’s application after it had lost control of a parcel of land that had been integral to the project. The decision to dismiss was made “without prejudice,” meaning that the company could resubmit.
In a January filing with ORES, Diane Sullivan, a senior vice president at Hecate, said that the company planned to submit a revised plan within 60 days, which would be any time now.
Emails and phone calls to Hecate were not returned.
Wolf, in his latest report to residents about the project’s status, wrote, “I warned that the saga of Shepherd’s Run was not over. Because the dismissal was “without prejudice,” Hecate could try again. Well, they’re back!”
The original project covered 267 acres, and according to Wolf the company plans to work with 217 acres to build a 42MW array.
“Shepherd’s Run would still be the size of more than 150 NFL-sized football fields,” Wolf wrote.
Wolf could not be reached for comment, but in his report he said that he hoped that the company “will work with Copake to address our well documented concerns about its proposal.”
Wolf said that should include incorporating proposals from an ad hoc Working Group that include a 300-acre public greenspace, creating nature walks and bicycle paths that would turn Shepherd’s Run “from an eyesore into a tourist attraction.”
The supervisor called for Hecate to compensate homeowners who will be impacted by “tens of thousands of solar panels directly across the road.”
Wolf was critical of Hecate’s approach to view a new application filing as an “amendment” to the old application.
Wolf also notes in his report that Hecate, despite its claims, has not held any “open house style” meetings to present a new proposal to the Town of Copake, and further that in its Public Information Project Plan (PIP) the company makes several mistakes regarding the identity of town officials.
“[PIP] has incorrect titles for some appointed board chairs, fails to list another appointed board member, and even lists a deceased Copakean as a current deputy chair,” Wolf wrote.
The roof of the Grove was damaged by the tree, the event tent was punctured, a chef was injured and the Jubilee Luncheon was canceled Sunday, Oct. 12.
LAKEVILLE, Conn. — The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News Jubilee Luncheon fundraiser at the Grove Sunday, Oct. 12 was canceled after a very large section of a tree fell on the caterer’s tent at about 10 a.m.
Most of the catering staff heard the tree breaking up and got out of the tent in time, but the chef was hit by the falling limbs and sustained non-critical injuries.
A portion of the Grove’s roof sustained damage and branches came through the tent.
The Lakeville Hose Company responded to the scene. The chef was transported to Sharon Hospital by the Salisbury Volunteer Ambulance Service.
“While we’re deeply disappointed to cancel our annual fundraising event, our first concern is for our caterer’s chef, who was injured in the incident and is now recovering at home,” said James Clark, Publisher. “We’re grateful there were no more serious injuries, and we deeply appreciate the understanding and support of our honoree, underwriters, and guests.”
The incident occurred during preparation for the event, which would have centered around the presentation of the Estabrook Community Leadership Award to Bunny Williams.
Food that The Marketplace had prepared for the event was donated to People’s Pantry in Great Barrington.
In Victorian era costume for the occasion, Madame Datura regaled the Amenia Library’s Tea Society meeting on Saturday, Oct. 11, with the history of plants and poisons, all the rage in 19th century literature and in fact.
AMENIA — Breaking from its usual tea and pastries format, the Saturday, Oct 11 meeting of the Amenia Tea Society featured a Victorian costumed talk by area resident Madame Datura titled “Poison in Relation to Tea.”
When not inhabiting the character of Madame Datura, author Renee Fleury of Brewster has extensive experience as a botanist and has studied the properties of plants, including the long history of poisonous plants and how they impacted past generations through popular literature or use, innocent or on purpose.
“Poison was everywhere,” Fleury said. “Half of all plant life is considered poisonous, but not all are fatal.”
“As a literary device, poisoning is subtle,” Fleury explained, noting the poisonous properties of Monkshood, Moonflower and Foxglove. Because it is a slow process, it was a popular device in the Victorian era detective genre that gained popularity through the novels of Poe, Dickens, Conan Doyle and more.
Even arsenic needs more than one dose to be effective, up to four to be exact.
“Arsenic is undetectable for a long time,” Fleury noted.
“The 19th century is full of stories in the press and in literature,” Fleury said. “It was the Golden Age of Poisoning.”
Wives in the Victorian era had few rights and often resorted to poisoning to escape the trap of spousal violence, Fleury noted.
About poisons, Fleury said that they are not painless, poisoning takes premeditation.
“Alkaloids make a plant poisonous,” Fleury noted. Alkaloids are molecular structures within a plant, but they are seasonal, not always there. The species, the plant part and the dosage are all variables.
Many potentially poisonous plants are currently used in medicines, Fleury said. Moonflower, for example, is a medicinal ingredient used to treat a variety of ailments.
“We cannot survive without plants,” Fleury said speaking of the great advances in medicines used today.
For generations, it was thought that small doses of arsenic were helpful. Steaks were routinely dipped in arsenic to retard spoilage. Green dye produced from arsenic was used in fabric coloring until it was proven that contact with that fabric was fatal. Arsenic was also used in the bookbinding process.
Fleury, and Madame Datura, schedule appearances throughout the region. For information, go to refleur369@gmail.com.
Planning Board members granted a waiver to the proposed cannabis dispensary located in the historic weigh station on Route 82 allowing the business to operate within 300 feet of the firehouse and the Post Office in contradiction with Pine Plains's local law. Town attorney Warren Replansky explained the town's codes would likely be unenforceable following legal decisions handed down by the Office of Cannabis Management on Monday, Oct. 6.
PINE PLAINS — Members of the Planning Board voted unanimously to grant a waiver to Upstate Pines allowing the cannabis dispensary to operate within 300 feet of the firehouse and the Post Office at their regular meeting Wednesday, Oct. 8.
That vote came after Planning Board attorney Warren Replansky explained recent state guidance superceded the town’s ability to restrict the business on the grounds of its proximity to the Post Office and the firehouse.
Approval of the dispensary itself was not yet granted, and the public hearing will be continued at the Wednesday, Nov. 12, meeting of the Planning Board.
Replansky explained an advisory opinion handed down on Monday, Oct. 6, from the state government and the Office of Cannabis Management clarified that municipalities may only legally restrict a nonmedical cannabis dispensary’s distance to a “public youth facility,” defined as a publicly accessible space with the primary purpose of providing services to children.
“So that might’ve saved you a bit of time,” Planning Board Chair Michael Stabile said to the applicants following Replansky’s remarks.
Next steps for the project now require the applicants to undergo State Environmental Quality Review, a standard process that most major development projects are required to follow.
Planning Board members, Replansky and the applicants also discussed parking and traffic control plans after receiving input from Dutchess County Planners that requested more specific information about the potential future uses on the site including a grocery store and an ice cream shop.
County planners wanted to see a detailed description of the scope of all future uses to limit the possibility of segmentation, which is when a project is proposed and completed in vague phases that inhibit the full environmental review process.
Also on the agenda was a resolution to allow construction of a small house at 441 Carpenter Hill Road and the approval of a site plan for ground-mounted solar panels in the backyard of a residence at 560 Carpenter Hill Road. Board members approved the resolution for the small house and accepted the site plan for the solar panels, setting a public hearing on the matter for Wednesday, Nov. 12.
Dozens of people crowded into the courthouse at the Washington Town Hall on Reservoir Drive in Millbrook on Tuesday, Oct. 7, to watch a pre-application meeting between Planning Board members and representatives of Centaur Properties LLC. David Blatt and Henry Hay of Centaur Properties LLC described their plan to build an 18-hole golf course with limited membership and residences on the historic 2,000-acre Hitchcock estate.
"This is nothing like Silo Ridge," said Centaur Properties co-founder Henry Hay. "This is Buckingham Palace to a craphouse. It's completely different. It's much higher quality."
MILLBROOK — Dozens of residents of the Town of Washington packed into the courtroom in Town Hall on Reservoir Drive for a standing-room-only regular meeting of the Planning Board on Tuesday, Oct. 7.
Well over three-quarters of the crowd were there to listen in to a pre-application meeting between Planning Board members and representatives of Centaur Properties LLC, a New York City-based development company that’s proposing an 18-hole golf course, equestrian facilities and luxury residential development on the 2,000-acre Hitchcock estate.
A pre-application meeting, Planning Board Chair Susan Meaney explained before beginning the discussion, allows developers or anyone with a potential project to meet with the Planning Board and ask questions about the planning and zoning process prior to submitting an application.
“This is not a public hearing,” Meaney said. “That doesn’t mean that you can’t let your voices be heard. If you have opinions about what gets said here tonight or what the potential proposal might be you can certainly write letters to the Planning Board.”
Henry Hay and David Blatt are the men behind Centaur Properties’ proposal for the Hitchcock estate. Blatt began the discussion by expressing his and Hay’s desire to have an open dialogue with the community.
“It goes without saying this is an incredible piece of property — an incredibly large piece of property,” Blatt said. “It deserves a responsible and thoughtful steward and our hope is that we can bring that level of stewardship that the property deserves and the level of attention to detail and care that this property needs.”
Following was a description of the project centered around an 18-hole golf course that Blatt and Hay said was essential to the development.
“Our ideas on our project are to create a world class golf course, clubhouse — limited membership,” Blatt said.
Additionally, the developers expressed a desire to construct a spa, equestrian facilities, trails, housing and to conserve a portion of the estate.
Planning Board members then began a back-and-forth with the developers, asking the two men for more specific details about their proposal. One of Meaney’s first questions centered around private membership.
“We’re going to have a very, very small membership,” Hay said. “Maybe 300 people.”
That response prompted board member Nicole Drury to clarify if the proposal is more akin to a private golf club or a gated luxury housing development of the likes of the Discovery Land Company’s Silo Ridge Field Club in Amenia — a gated luxury subdivision in Amenia with an 18-hole golf course and other amenities.
“This is nothing like Silo Ridge,” Hay said in response. “This is Buckingham Palace to a craphouse. It’s completely different. It’s much higher quality.”
Later on in the meeting, Planning Board member Eric Alexander again drew comparisons between Centaur’s proposal and the nearby Silo Ridge Field Club in Amenia, which he called a “bad situation for that community.” He cited a perception of exclusivity within the luxury housing development that has put off the surrounding Amenia community.
But Hay wouldn’t elaborate on the distinctions between the Hitchcock estate proposal and Silo Ridge Field Club. "This is nothing like Silo Ridge," Hay maintained. "We don't want that."
Environmental conservation was central to the board members’ concerns, prompting conflicting responses from Blatt and Hay about the amount of open space that will be left after development.
“At least 50%,” Hay said before Blatt cut him off.
“I think 25 to 50% is kind of a good estimate,” Blatt said, correcting his colleague. “We would love to put aside as much as possible.”
The pre-application meeting ended shortly after input from the Planning Board’s attorney, Hannah Atkinson of Van DeWater & Van DeWater out of Poughkeepsie, and Meaney that not much more could be said about the proposal until something concrete has been submitted to the board.
“There’s a code so you can be working within the framework of what’s expected in these different zones,” Atkinson said of the town’s zoning code, and urged the developers to read the code and use it and the town’s comprehensive plan to guide them in designing the project. “You’re not going to be 180 degrees off what the board is expecting if you follow the provisions of the code.”
As of press time, the sale of the Hitchcock estate has not been finalized. The property was listed for sale in Summer 2024 for $75 million.
