Workforce housing subdivision impacts declared negligible

AMENIA — Months of deliberation over the environmental impacts of a proposed workforce housing subdivision concluded Thursday, July 23, when Planning Board members voted to move the project forward to site plan approval.

The environmental impact analysis phase in connection with the Cascade Creek subdivision application was completed following the Planning Board’s unanimous vote for a “negative declaration” as part of the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) process.

The proposal, submitted by the Hudson River Housing of Poughkeepsie, calls for a 28-home workforce housing development on a 24.13-acre parcel between Cascade Road and Route 22. The developers also aim to preserve open space and environmentally sensitive land.

The negative declaration means the Planning Board found the proposed workforce housing development is not expected to have significant adverse environmental impacts, allowing the application to move forward to the site plan review stage without requiring a full Environmental Impact Statement.

That action allows the developer to proceed to the site plan phase of the application process where actual plans for the subdivision are submitted for consideration by the Planning Board. Public hearings will be included in that site plan process.

A significant issue within the SEQR process had been the board’s concern about the volume of water storage that would support firefighting efforts within the planned subdivision.

Attorney Alec Gladd, of Cuddy & Feder LLP out of Fishkill, New York, representing the developer, stated that the fire department is asking for water storage capacity data that could only be answered within the site plan phase. Currently, the developer is offering on-site fire suppression and home sprinklers in each housing unit.

“We have met the requirement for now,” Gladd said, noting that the SEQR analysis is an environmental review.

The issue of firefighting capacity can be raised again later in the process once the site can be tested for water availability, advised Planning Board attorney Cassandra Britton.

“Sprinklers are for evacuation of people from their homes, but you still need water to fight the fires,” said Planning Board Engineer John Andrews. Water storage to support home sprinklers is separate from water storage to fight fires.

Peter Deister, chairman of the local Board of Fire Commissioners, attended the meeting and expressed his concern about the issue of adequate water storage capability. The fire department has scheduled a second meeting with architect Richard Rennia, who designed the project, on Monday, Aug. 10.