By Nathan Mayberg
SOUTH FALLSBURG — January 13, 2003 – Say hello to a new era in Fallsburg.
Thirteen site plan approvals, subdivisions, and zoning changes were in front of the Town of Fallsburg Planning Board on Thursday night in South Fallsburg.
The major news of the night concerned the old Pines Hotel in South Fallsburg. The plans were called "conceptual" by Steve Proyect, a representative for the developers of New Pines Inc. Although vague, he said ideas included plans for 1,127 condominium units, a 280-room hotel and a strip mall on 204 acres of land on Laurel Avenue.
The board voiced concerns about the pre-existing sewage pump station on the site. An engineer will look at the station in the near future, said officials.
The DEC is waiting for a complete set of plans by the developers before they give their approval. A plan for the local wetlands is also required.
The Planning Board named itself lead agency for the environmental review.
Board Chairman Art Rosenshein said that the development already had a "negative declaration of environmental significance."
The Army Corps of Engineers also needs to examine the property and the site plans. The board asked that Proyect come back next month with additional information before further decisions are made.
In other business, KDJ Realty asked for approval of a 195-lot subdivision. The property sits on 150 acres at Whittaker Road in South Fallsburg.
The DEC has signed off on the wetlands portion, but a scoping hearing is still needed. The company’s environmental impact statement has to be reviewed as well.
Board members also asked for fiscal and school impact statements. They said that the company will have to compensate the town for the impact that the new homes will have on schools and other services
Following that was Mountain Heights Estates. Company officials are proposing a development of 78 homes on Hillside Drive in Mountaindale.
Their site plan was previously approved; however they have recently changed their ideas and will require more information in order to be approved.
The Kleiner group also requested conceptual site plan approval for 600 homes on a 104-acre property on Midwood Road in Loch Sheldrake.
This plan is only in its beginning stages and will take more time before approval is given.
The final piece of business was the Harmony Realty Corporation’s request for conceptual site plan approval on a mini-mall on LaVista Drive in South Fallsburg.
This was the first time the board viewed the proposal, and company officials will come back in a month with more information.