Orange County, NY – New Chasidic Village On The Horizon In Monroe?

Orange County, NY – With just 151 days remaining on the countdown clock until the Town of Palm Tree officially comes into existence, residents of adjacent areas excluded from the new town have filed a petition to create a village of their own, a move that would give them the ability to better regulate their development and infrastructure.

The petition was filed with the Town of Monroe on Thursday, reported the Times Herald Record.

The proposed Village of Seven Springs would encompass 1.7 square miles on both sides of Route 17 and would include existing areas and much of the unincorporated land in the northern section of the town. The Harriman Commons Shopping Center and a nearby condominium complex, both of which would have likely opposed the formation of Seven Springs ,as well as 23 acres of recently annexed parkland that cannot become part of any new village, were all excluded from the petition.

If created, Seven Springs would be larger than Kiryas Joel and the Town of Palm Tree.

State law requires a minimum of 500 residents to create a new village. According to the petition which was signed 116 voters, 597 men, women and children reside within Seven Springs’ proposed boundaries.

If certified by Monroe Town Supervision Tony Cardone, the petition would force a referendum in the proposed area that, if approved, would create the new village, although two previous annexation requests that include properties within the proposed borders of Seven Springs and are still awaiting court resolution could potentially stall the process for an unknown period of time.

Cardone expressed concern about the petition, saying it could create problems for the Town of Monroe and indicated that he might be willing to allow some zoning changes in the area as well as some other concessions if the petition were withdrawn.

While Cardone said that he felt that the organizer of the petition, Herman Wagschal, might be open to discussing those possibilities with the town, Wagschal’s lawyer said that the petition was sincere and not intended as a means to force the town to ease up on certain issues.

The United Monroe citizen’s group is opposing the petition saying that the Town of Palm Tree had been created as a peaceful compromise in the growth issue that had long created conflict between the town and the area’s Chasidic residents.

It blasted the move as a ploy by “a small group of wealthy landowners who wish to skirt local zoning laws to disrupt these accomplishments for profit,” suggesting that any potential concerns could have been better addressed by petitioning the town board.

Attorney Steven Barshov who represents the petitioners said that the move was intended give residents greater control of their local government.

“I think that they felt they were a community and wanted to be able to come together as a community,” said Barshov.