Town of Gardiner Supervisor Marybeth Majestic declared victory for the town after the Awosting Club’s Article 78 lawsuit vs. the town and its building inspector/code enforcement officer Bruce Terwilliger was dismissed recently by Ulster County Supreme Court Judge Kevin Bryant.

“Petitioner Camilla Bradley (the Awosting Club owner) was chastised by Judge Bryant for filing the instant Article 78, which in essence, asked the Court to interject itself into this administrative process prior to the (Town) Board having an opportunity to evaluate and make determinations on a complete application,” Majestic said. “Gardiner stated that the application was defective in 10 areas.”

Though the Article 78 vs. the town was dismissed, Majestic added, “While this is a step in the right direction, the matter is still not resolved.”

On February 7, the town board unanimously voted to reject the Awosting Club’s campground application. The resolution cited several flaws with the application and preexisting code violations, including a failure to include a state-mandated environmental assessment form with the application, illegal operation of a lodging facility, the presence of illegally constructed geo-domes and a noncompliant supply and sanitation system.

During that public session, Bradley claimed she was being treated unfairly and the resolution rejecting the campground application was filled with misinformation.

She has claimed that the opposition to the Awosting Club stems from her father’s controversial legacy. In the early 2000s, her father, John Bradley, attempted to develop over 2,000 acres of the Shawangunk Ridge that he owned into a private housing development with more than 300 homes and a 300-acre golf course.

Bradley’s plans sparked the “Save the Ridge” movement, which succeeded in protecting much of the land. In March 2006, the 2,500-acre tract of wilderness along the Shawangunk Ridge was acquired by the state for $17 million and incorporated into the Minnewaska State Park Preserve.

The Bradley family retained a large section of the adjoining property, which was rebranded from the Awosting Reserve to what is now called the Awosting Club.

Over the past several years, the Awosting Club has built decks and erected geodesic domes and outhouses without submitting a site plan or building permit application, although the town’s building department requested these on at least two occasions.

Bradley has argued that the campground was a preexisting nonconforming use that should be “grandfathered in” and that no permits were necessary.

The Town Board ruled, however, that the Awosting Club no longer falls under the town’s definition of a “campground,” but rather is a lodging facility and that the geo-domes were “illegally erected without authorization and required permits.”

Bradley responded by filing the Article 78 lawsuit following the rejection of the campground application.

In Bryant’s ruling, he said he dismissed the Article 78 based on the failure of the petitioner (Bradley) to exhaust all administrative remedies.

“With regard to Petitioner’s request for declaratory relief, it is the finding of this Court that the request that this Court address the existence or lack of a preexisting nonconforming use entitled to protection is not ripe for judicial review until and unless Petitioner resubmit and receive an adverse ruling on the application,” Bryant said.

Bradley was unavailable for comment on Bryant’s ruling.