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Wallkill Valley Times, Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Town residents oppose auto recovery lot
Continued from page 1
The planning board issued a positive
declaration for the project, finding it
may have potentially significant adverse
environmental impacts. The action
requires the assembly of a DEIS, which
will address potential environmental
impacts and mitigation measures.
Several residents questioned the right
of the facility to operate in the I3 zone,
which prohibits junkyards. Town of
Montgomery Building Inspector Walter
Schmidt ruled the property to be an
auto recovery facility because it fit the
dictionary definition, despite the town
code not containing a definition for that
use, and granted the special exception
use permit.
John Brown, member of the Historic
Brown Family Farm, which adjoins
the BHT property, said the property is
actually a junkyard, and cited the New
York State General Municipal Law 136
“ ‘Junk yard’ shall mean any place of
storage or deposit, whether in connection
with another business or not, where two
or more unregistered, old, or secondhand
motor vehicles, no longer intended or
in condition for legal use on the public
highways, are held,” the law states.
Brown also cited Montgomery’s town
code, which defines the term “junkyard.”
“Any land or structure or part thereof
exceeding 300 square feet in area
used for collecting, storage or sale of
wastepaper, rags, scrap metal or other
scrap or discarded material; or for
the collecting, dismantling, storage or
salvage of machinery or vehicles not in
running condition, or for sale of the parts
thereof,” the town’s zoning code states as
the definition.
Brown also directed attention to
a similar application submitted to the
Town of Thompson by BHT in October
2018, in which the project is labeled a
salvage yard for the storage of about 6,700
salvage vehicles. The applicant describes
the project as an “outdoor sales lot” on
the Town of Montgomery Environmental
Assessment Form (EAF).
Brown submitted an appeal to the town
zoning board of appeals challenging
the building inspector’s final use
determination and requested the scoping
session be delayed until after the appeal
goes through the board. Almost two dozen
residents attended the zoning board
meeting, hoping to have the building
inspector’s decision overturned and the
application ultimately denied.
Ross Winglovitz, Managing Principal
with Engineering and Surveying
Properties, P.C, said the property is not a
salvage or junkyard because there will be
no dismantling of vehicles on site.
Brown also pointed to an inconsistency
on the project’s EAF, submitted in
September 2018. The existing conditions
do not list any acreage as agriculture
use, however one parcel in the two-parcel
property had an agricultural exemption
in 2018. To be granted an agricultural
exemption, seven acres of land must
be farmed, and the owner must have
made at least $10,000 from agricultural
production, according to town assessor
Dennis Ketcham.
Multiple residents spoke in opposition
to the project at the scoping session,
expressing concerns over storm water,
visual, noise, air, traffic and property
value impacts.
Kristen Brown, another member of the
Brown farm, said the potential for water
pollution from vehicle fluid leakage is
huge because of the site’s proximity to
the Tin Brook and the permeable gravel
surface the cars will sit on.
The site lies in a floodplain district
and contains about 53 acres of wetlands,
less than .1 of which will be disturbed.
The EAF also states unmapped potential
wetland buffers will be encroached
upon and developed in some locations. It
includes 27 acres of impervious surfaces.
Stormwater runoff will be directed
to on-site storm water management
facilities, then to on-site wetlands,
according to the EAF.
Winglovitz said oil and gas is removed
from cars if there is damage to vehicles’
operating system.
Kristen Brown said storm water run-off
and potential pollution to groundwater
and the Tin Brook will directly affect
their farm, which is downriver of the
project, since their animals drink from
that stream.
“The
potential
for
degraded
groundwater is huge,” Brown said. “That
could be a severe economic impact to our
farm and possibly put us out of business
in the meat industry.”
All of the environmental concerns
will be addressed in the DEIS, including
mitigation measures, Winglovitz said. A
Stormwater Prevention Pollution Plan
(SWPP) will be drafted that will outline
requirements to mitigate potential
storm water impacts before and after
construction.
Kristen Brown said the project will be
an eyesore. This will erode trust in their
customers, who come directly to the farm
to purchase their products and treasure
the peaceful pastoral scene.
“Would you come to buy meat from me
if I’m directly adjacent to a junkyard?”
Brown said. “How do you know what is
going to be in the meat of our animals?”
She is concerned about noise from
backup beepers on payloaders, which are
used to move the cars.
The business will only operate during
regular business hours of 8 a.m. to 7
p.m. Monday through Saturday, which is
no different from any other commercial
business that could inhabit that property,
Winglovitz said.
Dust from the gravel could create air
pollution and cause respiratory issues in
their family and their animals, Kristen
Brown said.
Although the emergency access road
is supposed to be for emergency services,
Browns Road resident and real estate
agent Lynnette Wright was concerned
the drive could be utilized by vehicles
transporting cars, which cuts through a
residential road. The road has pedestrian
and bicycle traffic which would be affected
by large vehicles passing through.
Wright said the combination of visual,
noise, traffic and quality of life impacts
would classify the project as a nuisance
neighbor, which can cause a substantial
decrease in property values. It also might
take longer for Browns Road homes to
sell.
“You have just thrown the desirability
[of your home] out the window,” Wright
said.
Other residents echoed the same
concerns, worried about how their overall
quality of life would be affected.
“We really don’t want this,” Browns
Road resident Jose Hernandez said.
The town planning board is accepting
written comments until 12 p.m. on March
22. Comments may be emailed to Suzanne
Hadden at shadden@townofmontgomery.
com, delivered in person or mailed to Town
of Montgomery planning board, Town
Hall—110 Bracken Road, Montgomery,
NY, 12549.
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