The project known as Unity Place Warehouse was granted a Clearing and Grading Permit on Thursday, February 15 by the Town of Newburgh Planning Board. A public hearing on the permit was waived.

The board, at the recommendation of Planning Board Attorney Dominic Cordisco, also issued a determination of consistency based upon the previous negative declaration adopted. A negative declaration means that the project will not have any impact on the environment. The negative declaration was adopted on November 17, 2022, according to Cordisco.

The project, proposed for the northwest corner of Old Little Britain Road and Unity Place, is a 154,700 square foot facility to be built on the vacant lot. The project went before the public several times and was met with heavy scrutiny from the residents of the Lakeview Drive and Old Little Britain Road neighborhoods. The project as per the town zoning code is a permitted use. The zone is classified as an interchange business.

The clearing and grading permit allows the applicant to cut down 190 trees according to John Cappello, an attorney of J&G LAW, LLP. Capello was joined by project sponsor Eliot Spitzer and Ray Yannone of Storm King Contracting.

The sense of urgency to cut the trees now is to have them cut before March 31. After that date, no cutting is permitted due to the presence of Indiana bats, a recognized endangered species. The next permitted period to cut down trees would be late in October.

Engineer Patrick Hines of MHE Engineering noted in his memo that the project received conditional final approval on July 20, 2023, and 25 specific conditions were required to be met by the applicant.

Addressing the Outside Sewer User Agreement condition, Cappello said he anticipates that the project will be before the town board for approval soon. An approval from the Orange County Department of Health for the water main extension with hydrants was also required. Cappello said that an application is being processed.

The project also requires the filing of a Stormwater Facilities Maintenance Agreement, posting of required securities and other conditions to be met. A plan showing the removed trees has been provided, according to Hines, and the amount of acreage that would involve clearing was identified at 4.6 acres.

With tree clearing, Cordisco also noted to the board and applicant that if there were to be any tree clearing within 1,500 feet of a residence, the applicant would only be able to work between the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and there would no site work on Sunday or public holidays.