By Rob Sample
A public hearing on the Buttermilk Falls resort’s expansion plans drew a sizable crowd to Marlborough Town Hall on Monday night, August 5.
The developers of Buttermilk Falls plan to construct, in phases, a new 65-room hotel facility, 35 guest cabins, a 60-seat restaurant, and a 300-seat banquet facility. They also brought an artist’s rendering of the hotel, giving many observers their first look at what the new lodging facility will look like.
The hotel will feature dark siding to blend more easily into its heavily wooded surroundings. In addition, the 35 guest cabins will be built on piers, taking advantage of the sloping nature of the site and giving future guests the feeling of being in a treehouse.
The residents who spoke chiefly voiced concerns about resort traffic spilling onto their quiet, residential streets. “Our street has a wonderful character,” said Brian Murphy, who lives on Van Orden Road. “It would be nice if the signage [marking the road] doesn’t change, including the dead-end sign.”
Michael Boyer lives nearby on Cassel Road in the Town of Lloyd. “It was quite a shock to see such a large project going up,” said Boyer. “Would it have a significant increase in traffic on our streets?”
Robert Pollock, Buttermilk Falls’ owner, said the expansion plans do not include any access points to the resort from either road. In addition, the complex will have extensive valet parking on site, keeping guests’ vehicles within its boundaries.
Town engineer Pat Hines noted that a variety of project requirements are still outstanding. These include surveys of the site’s water and sanitary systems by the Ulster County Health Department; the site’s stormwater permit, which comes from the New York State Department of Environmental Protection; and comments from the town’s Highway Department on the proposed roadways at the complex.
Noting the site’s steep terrain, Planning Board member James Garofalo brought up the town’s ridgeline and steep-slopes protection law. However, Hines responded that this law just applies to development that occurs at elevations of 750 feet or greater.
Board member Fred Callo lives on North Road, also in the vicinity of Buttermilk Falls. “Mr. Pollock has been a very good neighbor over the years,” Callo noted, pointing out that Pollock invites the Milton Fire Department to have its annual cocktail party fundraiser at the complex.
A second public hearing also took place on August 5, which was for a lot-line revision and two-lot subdivision proposal at the corner of Dragotta and South Roads. Under the proposal, the lot lines for the existing two lots on the parcel would be changed, with three lots as the result.
Garofalo suggested that the parcel owner, John Mazza, and his engineering firm conduct an additional survey to mark the parcel’s metes and bounds on the site map, which are the boundaries of a parcel of real estate identified by natural landmarks. More critically, he asked for the study to provide line-of-sight boundaries for drivers along the roads that adjoin the parcel.
“I’m unaware of anything in the code that requires the applicant to come up with this information,” said Gerard Comatos, the board’s consulting attorney. “It might be good in the future, but I don’t think it’s fair to make them go through that now.”
Hines agreed. “I think we’re encroaching on a policy decision the Town Board has to make and we’re putting a burden on the applicant,” he said. Ultimately, the Planning Board voted to authorize Comatos to draft a letter of approval for Mazza.
Among other business, the Planning Board okayed the following measures.
• It authorized Comatos to draft a letter of approval for the Marlboro on Hudson project on Highland Avenue. The new developers there aim to restart a condominium-construction project that was stopped during the 2008 recession. At the advice of the Ulster County Planning Board, the developers will add a number of electric vehicle charging stations within the complex, either in the parking lot or in resident garages.
• It okayed a lot line revision between 278 and 268-272 Orchard Road. This will rectify a slight encroachment by the driveway at 278 Orchard Road onto the neighboring property.
• It aired a new application by Donald Schreiber to subdivide his existing 4.8-acre property on Old Indian Road into two residential lots, enabling the construction of an additional house on the new lot.