Fallsburg, NY – Hearing on Rezoning Draws Crowd

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    Fallsburg, NY – More than 100 people gathered last night in Fallsburg for a public hearing on the town's proposed zoning overhaul.

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    The major issue in the proposed zoning is how the Town Board will classify one of the town's low-density districts, right in the middle of the town, surrounded by the hamlets of Loch Sheldrake, Hurleyville, South Fallsburg and the Village of Woodridge.

    The board has proposed allowing two homes per acre in that section instead of one home per three acres.

    Residents questioned how well "package" sewage plants would be monitored and voiced concerns about some 4,000 new homes planned to be constructed throughout the town.

    Last night's hearing at the South Fallsburg Community Center was the second on the proposed zoning revision. A vote has not been scheduled. [Record]


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    Heather Yakin: Record
    Heather Yakin: Record
    16 years ago

    South Fallsburg — Judging by the comments at Tuesday night’s public hearing, people in Fallsburg most fear zoning that would allow dense, ugly bungalows to proliferate.
    More than 100 people filled the South Fallsburg Community Center to voice opinions on a proposed zoning overhaul, and things got pretty tense.
    A woman who lives in Hurleyville said developers were allowed to build “ugly buildings” close to the road, without any greenery to camouflage them. Right now, Fallsburg has no codes to regulate aesthetics, Supervisor Steve Levine said, adding, “That’s why we’re here.”
    The Orthodox Jewish developer, Herschel Mossberg, tried to explain how he intended to improve the way his project, Park Slope on Brophy Road, looks. He’ll landscape, he said, and 10 acres of the 43-acre parcel have been preserved as open space. An angry onlooker started yelling at him, at one point stepping toward Mossberg. A police detective quickly intervened.
    Ken DeMars of Woodridge brought a map showing all the proposed developments around town. Roughly 4,400 units could be built on about 3,300 acres, he said. Many are planned for a circle in Fallsburg’s center where the Town Board has proposed allowing more homes per acre if developers meet certain standards.
    “Everything else in the zoning code was thoroughly discussed” by the citizens’ committee that helped to create the town’s new comprehensive plan last year, DeMars said. “As I understand it, nobody is happy with the process that brought us to (this) proposal.”
    Some of the Orthodox Jewish summer residents attended, frustrated at one point as some locals asked, “what do they contribute” to the town. “Eight million dollars in taxes are being paid by summer residents,” Sam Chrach answered them. “Two months a year. There’s no better business than that, pumping so much money into the town.”
    The Town Board hasn’t yet set a date to vote on the new zoning.