Keane Stud developers present environmental impact analysis

AMENIA — Residents had the opportunity on Wednesday, Oct. 22, to weigh in on the proposed Keane Stud subdivision, a plan that would divide roughly 605 acres into 27 mostly residential lots, during a meeting of the Amenia Planning Board.

The session was part of the State Environmental Quality Review Act process, following the board’s decision that a Draft Environmental Impact Statement should be prepared to evaluate potential environmental and scenic impacts from the project.

The study will help inform the board’s review and approval process.

Wednesday’s meeting served as a public scoping session, allowing residents to suggest which environmental and community issues should be analyzed as part of the study.

Peter Feroe, an environmental planner with AKRF, Inc. of New York City representing the developer, presented an overview of the project and outlined the preliminary scope of analysis.

About 35 residents attended the meeting at Town Hall, where Feroe explained that the plan calls for 23 residential-agricultural lots and four lots to be set aside for conservation and equestrian use. Two of the preserved parcels would remain forested as conservation areas, while the other two would support equestrian activities.

The 23 lots would be sized at 10 acres each. Since the entire area is within a designated Scenic Protection Overlay District, the layout requires Planning Board approval.

The proposal calls for the 23 lots to be served by three roads that presently exist as farm roads on the acreage, Feroe said, although the three roads would need to be improved for use.

“This is not a public hearing on the subdivision application,” Planning Board attorney Paul Van Cott said, noting that the decision will be made after the completion of the impact studies.

“There will be full public hearings on the impact studies and on the full Keane Stud subdivision application, perhaps two months from now,” Van Cott said.

Feroe reviewed maps of the property located on Depot Hill Road, off Old Route 22. Nine of the ten acres on each lot would be conserved.

“A full 90% of the site would be reserved for agriculture,” Feroe said, noting that no buildings are envisioned as part of the subdivision application. Purchasers of the lots would need to come before the Planning Board for site plan approval.

The Planning Board had asked the applicants to consider the effects of future potential residential build-out on the acreage.

“The goal is to continue to promote agriculture to preserve the rural character,” Feroe said, noting that the town’s comprehensive plan favors balance in development.

Since planning for the subdivision began in 2021, Feroe said, multiple project modifications have been made, including reductions in size, removal of lots, and revisions to the layout. The maximum home footprint was scaled back, and the maximum home height reduced to 28 feet.

All development restrictions imposed by the Planning Board would be included in covenant deed restrictions to be adhered to by lot purchasers, Feroe noted.

Residents’ comments centered on the theme of a feared loss of agricultural heritage inherent to the community’s character, and the desecration of the view from the DeLaVergne Hill lookout to the west.

Resident George Bistransin spoke of diminished agriculture in the area and its impact on farming, noting that he now buys hay from a Salt Point supplier for his animals.

Mark Doyle, representing the Conservation Advisory Council, described potential impacts on water bodies and active farmland.

“There should be no division or construction on the viewshed area,” said resident Sharon Kroeger, secretary of the Committee to Save the View from DeLaVergne Hill, an organization dedicated to protecting the viewshed seen as key to the community’s identity.

Recalling his past experience serving on the Planning Board, Town Supervisor Leo Blackman spoke of the iconic view from DeLaVergne Hill, called by many the “Gateway to the Berkshires.”

Blackman said he was troubled by the idea that the unobstructed agricultural land would be broken up, suggesting the house lots should be separated from the agricultural expanse.

The next Planning Board meeting, on Wednesday, Nov. 12, is expected to include adoption of the final draft of the current scoping analysis. The study can be viewed in full on the town website.