D.I.G. Site Plans a Bit More Permanent Now

By John Emerson
KAUNEONGA LAKE - February 11, 2000 — The Bethel Planning Board is now considering an application from Alan Gerry and one of his companies, GF Entertainment, LLC, to make his Day In The Garden (D.I.G.) site on Hurd Road in Bethel a permanent fixture in the town.
At a planning board meeting Tuesday night, GF Vice-President Darrell Supak presented board members with a request for a special use permit for the former Woodstock site.
For the last two years, events at the D.I.G. site have operated under temporary approval from the town. The special use permit, if approved, will allow activities at the site to become more permanent in nature.
“This is an incremental step we need to take to establish a sense of permanence to our site,” Supak said. “This is important because we must market ourselves not only to people who attend events but also to the entertainers as well.”
In the application, GF proposes the site as an “Outdoor Recreation Activities Venue.” The proposal says the events include music concerts, films, seminars, theatrical activities, displays of art and culture, and community recreational activities such as last fall’s Sullivan County-sponsored Farmer’s Market.
There was no indication in the presentation of specific plans for the site during the summer.
Following Supak’s presentation, planning board members agreed to establish themselves as the lead agency for review of the plans. The action began the often-lengthy State Environmental Quality Review Act process, which is required under state law.
Planning Board consultant Tom Shepstone, who will help the board review the application, raised several questions pertaining to traffic, which is the primary concern for the site.
“This is not really a new project because we’ve had experience with it for the past two years operating on a temporary basis,” Shepstone said. “We already know that the traffic controls work fine for two or three events per year, but if it was to become an every-weekend thing, that’s something entirely different.”
The special use permit would allow GF to hold events at the location whenever they chose throughout the year.
Shepstone also questioned whether the company planned to pave any of the parking areas, which would also have an environmental impact on the area.
“It is my expectation that if we are going to pave parking for 1,000 cars, we would be coming back for approval to take the next step in the development of the site,” Supak said.
A public hearing on the application is scheduled for the planning board’s next meeting on Tuesday, March 14. The meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Bethel Justice Court in Kauneonga Lake.