Back to PRESS PAGE       (source) KINGSTON DAILY FREEMAN August 17, 2001 p. 1 by Ariel Zangla, correspondent

SAUGERTIES SCHEDULES HEARINGS ON PROPOSED MINING AMENDMENT
Mines that are not 'grandfathered' in would be restricted to highway business zones and industrial zones.

SAUGERTIES - The Town Board has scheduled two public hearings to gauge public sentiment regarding a proposed amendment to the zoning law that would prohibit mining except in highway business zones and industrial zones. At a board meeting Wednesday night, the board set the public hearing for the amendment on Sept. 20 and Oct. 11 at the Senior Center. Both hearings will start at 6:30pm.

    The amendment to the zoning law would authorize mining in industrial zones by right, subject to the need for sit plan approval if limits are exceeded. It would also allow mining in highway business zones upon the issuance of a special permit. In addition, the amendment would prohibit mining in all other zones, including residential zones. Councilwoman Marie Post said the board is not looking to pass this law to prohibit any specific mines but to protect the town and its residents. She said there are still mines that are grandfathered in under the law that cannot be stopped by the amendment and that anyone wishing to operate a mine can still apply for a special-use permit.

    It was Supervisor Greg Helsmoortel who first approached the board with the idea of amending the zoning law in this way, Post said. She said he met with the town's lawyers and with the board to make sure this was something the town could legally do. The main reason the board is looking to pass the amendment, according to Post, is to have a safeguard in the law that allows the town to follow its comprehensive plan and let Saugerties grow gracefully.

    Members of the anti-mining group Citizens Action for Residential Environments in Saugerties, who are opposed to a proposed mine in a residential area in Veteran, were in attendance at the meeting. Several members spoke in support of the board and the actions it was taking to preserve the area. Pat Fitzsimmons, the group's chairman, said he commended the board and Helsmoortel. He also urged the board to "steer a course that follows the comprehensive plan of the town." Mining is not an adequate representation of what the plan has in mind for Saugerties, Fitzsimmons added. Post said she could not speak for the rest of the board, but added that she had pledged herself to follow the guidelines of the comprehensive plan.

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