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Why Preserve Ramapo Opposes the Proposed Development of Patrick FarmComments Submitted to the Ramapo Town Board Regarding the FGEIS for Patrick Farm 1/18/2010 Why is Preserve Ramapo opposed to this application? We oppose it first, because it is directly contrary to the philosophy expressed in the master plan. That plan proposed that population concentrations should be highest along route 59 and lowest at the north end of the town where Patrick Farm is located. The first published version of Ramapo’s new comprehensive plan proposed three planned residential development (PRD) districts, two near Sloatsberg and the third being the 208 acre Patrick Farm site. What was the proposed density of these PRD’s, and what limitations if any were defined? There were none! Obviously, you can’t make an environmental review of a totally undefined zone. This was a clearly illegal use of the PRD concept because one of the requirements of a master plan is that it identify environmental concerns and state how those concerns will be handled. Since no attempt was made to define the parameters of this development it was really a barely disguised attempt to allow almost anything at all. For the first time in his tenure as our Ramapo town supervisor St. Lawrence was challenged by enormous opposition from all over Ramapo. The mayors of eight of our villages challenged his plan in court. So St. Lawrence backed down and eliminated the PRD’s from his final plan. His “compromise” on Patrick Farm simply doubled the previous density. Now two homes could be built on each acre of land instead of one. We always knew that this was just a temporary designation. Now that our esteemed supervisor believes that he cannot be defeated in a town election he is doing his best to destroy this magnificent landscape and enrich a small group of powerful political supporters.. When the Lebovits family first bought Patrick Farm it installed an illegal drainage system and the top of Patrick Farm’s dam was breached. A violation was posted by the Army Corps of Engineers. Unfortunately, the violation was removed after only partial remediation of the damage. Now this developer wants us to believe that he can be trusted to protect the wetlands! The proposed development of Patrick Farm is highly sophisticated, but we must not let a close view of the trees distract us from an examination of the forest! Second we oppose this plan because it is a classic example of spot zoning which is supposed to be illegal in New York State. The purpose of a master plan is to set the parameters within which all building is to take place. In theory a local government can’t simply point to a piece of land and decide that it will allow a density that is many times what was considered environmentally safe and socially acceptable under the existing master plan. Unfortunately land use controls provide politicians with the opportunity to reward favored developers with changes in land use that are worth huge amounts of money. Is this what is going on here? Third, we oppose this plan because Patrick Farm is the most environmentally sensitive tract of undeveloped land in Ramapo. Its pond and wetlands are part of the head waters of the Mahwah River, and it is a major barrier against the floods that periodically flow down the river causing substantial damage in Suffern. (It also helps to protect my own home on Sky Meadow Road which crosses over the river. When there is heavy flooding part of our road is submerged and our small community is cut off from the outside world.) Fourth, we oppose this plan because Rockland has limited water resources. Any reduction in the ability of this land to absorb rain water will reduce the capacity of United Water’s local wells while placing an additional strain on our water supply. The developer’s planners claim that their plan will protect this wet land even though it will involve a massive change in the farm’s topology. Perhaps it will, but we have seen “safe” changes in our environment through the years that have led to ever more serious flooding, and the thousands of people that will move to Patrick Farm will create an additional demand on our water supply. Last, but not least, we oppose the development of Patrick Farm because it is the most beautiful and biologically diverse open space left in Ramapo. Under the existing zoning perhaps 75 homes could be built on Patrick. This reasonable number of homes could be built on the least environmentally sensitive land under New York’s average density concept. This would protect the fragile forest and wetland. Robert I. Rhodes,
Chairman, Preserve Ramapo
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