Ruge’s Auto settles car lot paving issue amicably

MABBETTSVILLE — For the better part of a year, things were tense between Ruge’s Automotive, located at 3692 Route 44  in Mabbettsville, and its neighbors. Mabbettsville, a tiny hamlet in the town of Washington just two miles east of Millbrook, is likewise a quaint, a picturesque, rural community. 

The heart of the issue

So when the Chevy dealership wanted to pave the two car lots located on North Mabbettsville Road across Route 44 from the dealership that display its vehicles, and also enhance the lots’ lighting system, neighbors living nearby were not pleased. 

Those neighbors felt the addition of bright lights, so many vehicles and the black-topped lots would surely detract from the country ambience when driving west into the village. There was also a question of whether this changes would impact the area as far as the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and/or the town’s Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) were involved, which depended on issues like whether the area was over an aquifer and whether there could be drainage  problems.

Those concerns first were raised by residents Margaret and Charles Schneible at a Village Board meeting. The couple owns British Sporting Arms at 3684 Route 44. There were also complaints when the project was proposed because it involved a Mabbettsville property, and therefore it belonged in the lap of the Town of Washington (TOW) Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals rather than the Village Board. 

Site plan submitted, twice

In June 2020, Scott Hutchins from Ruge’s Auto Dealership submitted a site plan map and a request to make improvements and renovations to the property. It was essentially Ruge’s application to pave and upgrade the lighting in its parking lots. The application was denied. In July there was no mention of the subject, but in September. Ruge’s submitted another site plan to the Town of Washington Planning Board.

Some of the dealership’s neighbors weighed in at those Planning Board meetings, in person and through correspondence. The list of complaints included a fear of storm water runoff; concern about lighting that would be more appropriate on Route 9 than in Mabbettsville; loud noise; a lack of privacy; further commercialization of the area; and loss of pleasant vistas. 

The applicant argued that a display lot is meant to allow people to view the dealer’s vehicles, which shouldn’t be hidden by fences or high shrubbery. Likewise, when people want to examine the vehicles, they should not have to wallow in mud and the dealer should be allowed to pave the lot. Additionally, the two lots have always been used as display lots; the use is not a new use.

Automotive history

The car dealership has a long history in Mabbettsville; it’s been in business there for more than 100 years. It was originally Johnson’s Garage in the 1930s, according to Bob Audia. It was Alex Doherty’s Ford Dealership in the ‘30s and ‘40s until Samuel and Mary Audia bought it in 1947. In 1957 it moved down the street from the original site; and 24 years ago, the lot was improved. 

One of the lots in question was purchased in 1968; the second lot was bought in 1986. Zoning at the time of the purchase was for Highway Business, allowing the dealership use. The second lot, which has a residential house on it, has dual zoning, for Residential and Highway Business use. Route 44 is considered a major highway, and the hamlet of Mabbettsville has traditionally supported more businesses than residences.

The auto business remained in the Audia family until July 2016, when Bob Audia retired and sold it to the Ruge family, which has a successful dealership in Rhinebeck. The business and license were purchased;  the brick and mortar establishment and the lots are leased from the Audias. Ruge’s is scheduled to purchase the entire property in July 2021.

Hearings and negotiations

A public hearing was set for Nov. 3, 2020, but after opening the hearing, Chairman Paul Schwartz called for a motion to adjourn the public hearing to Dec. 1, in accordance with a request made by applicant Scott Hutchins. 

The public hearing was not needed after all the paperwork, discussions, arguments and accusations, because the Ruge’s and their neighbors had a meeting and worked things out. According to those involved, all parties are pleased with the outcome. 

Negotiations included: a reduced area for parking and displaying the vehicles; a 60-foot setback in the front, on the residential lot side, with trees planted to shield residents; similar tree shielding for neighbors on the west side of the back lot with a panel fence; and the east side of the lot will have improved landscaping. 

Also included in the negotiation, Ruge’s will reduce the lighting from four to three fixtures, with a reduction in wattage, and keep the lights on only during business hours and then keep them on motion sensors only from 11 p.m. until 6 a.m.

Additionally, a polymer surface with gravel top, not blacktop, will be applied to the two lots. There will be a maximum of 100 cars on the lots at any time and there will be more “neighborly” lighting changes on the dealership side lots. 

Ruge’s final site plan proposed a storm water collection swale with catch basins on the south of the landscaping, creating a natural buffer between properties.

The Planning Board said the submission includes the required storm water and erosion control standards needed and outlined for the DEC and town code. It granted the necessary permits.

The situation could have been fraught with even more problems, as Bob Audia is a also a councilman for town of Washington, as was the late Al DeBonis, whose family owns a house adjacent to the Ruge properties. Peter Audia, meanwhile, is a member of the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals, and    Gary Ciferri is the Washington town Supervisor, who has worked for the dealership for many years. It’s nice to note that everything appears to have been settled amicably and out of the courts, and now business can return to normal, or as normal as possible at a time when nothing seems quite normal.