Debate over a 20-foot access may have a sent a deal to donate nearly 25 acres of land to the Five Rivers Preservation by Carol Richards the way of the Dodo.
Richards’ subdivision plan of building seven lots on a 35-acre plot and donating the rest of the land to the Open Space Institute and ultimately to Five Rivers, bringing the state preserve into Bethlehem, appears to have broken down in the planning process.
Talks between Richards’ lawyers and the town came to a standstill over a 20-foot access to the property from Fischer Boulevard. Richards argued there was already an access on New Scotland Road and the 20-foot strip of land would traverse wetlands.
The town said it wanted Fisher Boulevard access because it fits in with the town’s Comprehensive Plan of incorporating pedestrian pathways to recreational areas such as parkland and preserves. The access was described as of critical importance to the proposal.
Neither side could reach an acceptable agreement over the issue.
Acting planning board Chairman Howard Engel, who is filling the post for the remainder of the year following the recent death of former Chairman Parker Mathusa, said he understood both sides but hoped some agreement could still be reached.
Engel recommended the board approve proposal as it stood, with the Fisher Boulevard access, and forwarding a recommendation to the town board on the project as is.
The board voted in favor 6-to-1, with planning board member Katherine McCarthy casting the only dissenting vote. According to Richards’ lawyer, Terresa Bakner, the vote effectively killed the proposal because of Richards’ frustration over the matter.
`Unfortunately we seemed to have come to a roadblock. Things have happened, I’m not sure any of us are sure whey they have happened,` Engel said. `I think the key to this whole thing is the relevance to the entire town of Bethlehem.`
Engel acknowledged that `everyone was in favor` of the land deal, including neighbors who want to keep the land forever wild, and town residents who want to hike to Five Rivers.
However, he said, `Neither side is willing to compromise.`
`I hope something can happen,` Engel said, `but at this point in time there’s not much point` in continuing the standoff.
McCarthy said she voted against both the proposal’s acceptance and the recommendation to the town board because of the parkland resolution that required access on Fisher Boulevard.
`That parkland resolution was the reason I voted against it because she might withdraw the deal,` McCarthy said. `I understand the point about the access but I think it’s a nice chunk of land for the town.`
McCarthy said she hoped the access situation could be mitigated in order to move the project forward and preserve the 24-plus acres of land after Richards’ was rumored to threaten selling the property to a developer.
However, after the vote came against the protests of several neighbors of the property, Bakner indicated Richards’ would be dropping the deal altogether.
Open Space Institute (OSI) sent a letter to Bethlehem dated Monday, Nov. 17, the day before the meeting, saying the access was necessary to move forward.
Bakner said OSI `changed their position` and said Richards was disappointed by the entire situation, which Bakner described as a very generous offer to the tune of $50,000.
When board member Kate Powers asked what the opposition to the plan was, Bakner said `She does not wish to provide public access along lot number 45.`
Bakner told the board that after hearing news of the planning board vote, Richards `most likely will not move forward she feels very strongly about this.`
`She believes that her request is reasonable. All the lots are double the size and some are triple, four or five times the size of the requirement,` Bakner argued of the proposal. `This is rather disappointing to get this [OSI] letter the day before or the day of this meeting.`
Bakner noted `for the record` that Richards only asked $50,000 for the 25 acres of land and that a nearby parcel sold for $105,000 for a half-acre lot.
Michael Morelli, the town’s assistant director of economic development and planning, said in a previous interview that the town’s not trying to be difficult and has been moving the project forward as fast as it could.
With Richards living in California, he said, she has to go through an Albany-based lawyer (Bakner) who speaks with her and her lawyer and then has to work with the Town of Bethlehem.
He noted that none of the lots would be affected by the current plan voted on by the planning board.
Morelli added that the Open Space Institute has offered to buy the 20-foot access and any other property `at fair market value,` and that the access would not impact the proposed seven lots.
`This is actually a minor hang-up but it’s kind of blown up into a major issue,` Morelli said in early November.
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