Revised plan is smaller scale, responding to area concerns

ANCRAM — Representatives of the proposed Iron Star Retreat Center presented the Ancram Planning Board with a reduced development proposal on Thursday, March 3. It came one year after they presented the original plan, which had the community on edge, fearful it was too large and would change the rural landscape.

Meeting in person at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, a handful of Iron Star reps attended in-person while a few attended via Zoom.

Presenting a summary of the scaled-back version of the site plan was Stacey Shurgin, Iron Star Retreat Center owner and the applicant on record.

She said the plan was reduced to address the public’s concerns and respond to the comments by the Planning Board and its consultants.

According to Shurgin, the revised retreat center will be a quiet place where guests can escape from the busy world, enjoy small farm and outdoor experiences and engage in reflection and relaxation.

Shurgin said all of the development was moved to one lot instead of being on three lots, adding the project will be entirely contained on approximately 36 acres of land, a vast reduction from the original 147 acres.

Over these 36 acres, she said there will be 12 small permanent structures consisting of four two-bedroom family units (each 1,200 square feet) and four A-frame structures (each 225 square feet). Adding five rooms, there will be a total of 17 permanent units, approximately 50% less than the original 33-room plan.

While having fewer permanent units means having fewer occupants to the property year-round, Shurgin said Iron Star will offer a true “glamping” (glamorous camping) experience from Memorial Day to Columbus Day with temporary accommodations.

In addition to the project’s size and accommodations being reduced, Shurgin said the event space was removed; the recreational amenity building was reduced from three structures to one by combining amenities; and the inn’s design was repositioned so the patio area no longer faces Route 82.

Following Shurgin’s summary, the Planning Board received an overview of the layout, environmental impact, traffic volume and other details.

As the Planning Board wants its consultants to review the new submission and then have the consultants’ comments sent back to them for consideration, a workshop session was scheduled for Thursday, March 31. Though open to the public, the workshop will be strictly for the Planning Board, its consultants and the applicant to discuss the site plan, with no public comments.

As announced by Attorney Taylor Palmer from the firm Cuddy + Feder, the March 3 meeting marked the one-year anniversary of Iron Star’s original application.

When Palmer sent a letter to the Planning Board early last year requesting an informal sketch conference application for the site plan, the original project involved the development of three parcels for a proposed retreat center and associated use.

Altogether, the project site consists of 146.75 acres divided into four lots: a 75-acre lot owned by JSG Farms; a 25.04-acre lot owned by P&M Farms; a 20.01-acre lot owned by RSG Farms; and a 26.7-acre lot owned by SSG Farms.

According to the materials listed on the project website, www.ironstarny.com, the site’s four lots are located “on the south side of New York State Route 82, south and west of Wiltsie Bridge Road, northwest of Roche Drive and east of Poole Hill Road.”

The original project sought to develop the parcels owned by JSG Farms, RSG Farms and SSG Farms, while the newly reduced project will limit site development exclusively to the parcel owned by RSG Farms.

Concerned about its scale, scope and the negative impact on local farmland, a group of residents formed under the name Rural Ancram (RA). It began meeting this past November to discuss Iron Star and keep the public informed about its potential impacts on the town.

RA has attained a land use attorney who is already “at work reviewing and disputing Iron Star’s proposal.” The group also set up a GoFundMe page entitled, “Help Rural Ancram Stop Iron Star Resort” to help offset growing attorney fees. RA stated it will also use donations for informational mailings and signage to raise awareness about the project.