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SAUGERTIES REPRISES HEARINGS ON MINING LIMITS
DAILY FREEMAN, March 21, 2002 (p1) Ariel Zangla, correspondent

A lawsuit claims the town failed to give proper notice of previous hearings on a zoning change adopted last fall

SAUGERTIES - The Town Board plans the first to two new public hearings today on a zoning amendment to prohibit mining in residential areas, even though the amendment was adopted by the board in October.

Since the amendment was adopted, a lawsuit has been filed against the town, claiming the amendment was void because the town did not give proper notice of the original hearings.

John Greco, an attorney for the town, has said Shott Rock Inc. has brought a lawsuit against the town claiming that the its (sic) decision to pass the zoning amendment was arbitrary and capricious.

Gilbert Shott, the owner of the company, owns 45 acres of land off the Morse Road in the hamlet of Veteran. Shott had planned to mine part of the property, but the amendment now prohibits such an operation because it's in a residential area.

Greco said the town believes it followed the proper procedure, but has scheduled two more public hearings as added insurance.

By holding the new public hearings, the town is ensuring that even if a judge does not agree that its hearings were done properly the last time, these ones will be, Greco said.

Following the latest hearings, the town will go through the State Environmental Quality Review process before deciding whether to pass the amendment again. Town officials have said the amendment was not drafted specifically to stop Shott's mining plan, but to cover an oversight in the town's zoning law.

The first hearing will [be] at 7 p.m. this evening at the Frank Greco Memorial Senior Center on Market Street.

Supervisor Greg Helsmoortel said he expects the same people to speak and to have the same reactions to the proposed amendment as they had when the town first discussed it. Helsmoortel said he is disappointed that the town has to go through the process again because he thought it had all been done properly before. He said the latest hearings are just taking more time and money away from residents and board members.

Members of the group Citizens Action for Residential Environments in Saugerties have already begun supporting the board's decision to hole the additional hearings. Speaking at a recent Town Board meeting, members of the group urged the board to hold the hearings and pass the amendment once more.