By Edie Johnson
The Open Space Connectivity Vision Map above shows how as land gets closer to the Hudson River it becomes increasingly protected and full of trails. The next communities to the West, Woodbury and Blooming Grove share frontage along the Schunnemunk Ridge and are important to the overall concept. The gold line coming through Blooming Grove, connects with the Heritage Trail at its Southern end and stretches to Schunnemunk State Park where it joins the other significant Trails. Orange County announced this week that it will be Lead Agency on the Schunnemunk Rail Trail Project.
At the Blooming Grove end of October Meeting, Supervisor Rob Jeroloman announced that after pursuing membership in the Hudson Highlands Preservation Group for some time he was notified that the prestigious membership is now official. One of three adjacent Highlands Groups, it extends all the way from the border of Connecticut and Massachusetts down through Connecticut, and across the Hudson River into Orange County. At the New Jersey state line, it continues the same preservation activities but is called the New Jersey Highlands Preservation area and Council (which just celebrated its 20th birthday), after which it continues through the southern quarter of Pennsylvania. Other communities receiving membership, recently include the Towns of Chester and Dover.
Highlands Preservation Groups, from Connecticut through Orange County,
New York, Northern New Jersey, and Southeastern Pennsylvania.
This adds another significant environmental accomplishment to numerous others for Blooming Grove in 2024, including recently a $500,000 open space grant from Senator James Skoufis earlier in October, expansion of multiple fields at Lasser Park, renovation of the Mays Field basketball court which has since become very busy, along with an adjacent newly paved asphalt area for future Pickleball courts.
Jeroloman said that the Hudson Highlands membership is particularly important because it creates eligibility for numerous new open space related grants we might not otherwise be aware of and will identify Blooming Grove in a consideration group when a new opportunity arises. He has already spoken with Matt Decker who is now a Stewardship Coordinator with the Hudson Highlands Land Trust which maintains close communication with the Open Space Institute and the National Land Trust Alliance about opportunities that are out there and which of them might fill important needs for Blooming Grove and be in a financial range that could work as "Part OSI" and "Part Town" funded. Decker in the past has played a significant part with the Open Space Institute in preserving 2,000 area acres.
With pressure from Albany for housing developments to help the affordable housing crisis, and mega-warehouses knocking at the doors of all of our local communities, this potential added protection for the environmental could be critical. Blooming Grove, Chester and Cornwall are being challenged with a number of housing developments that are planned in areas of insufficient water for drinking and bathing and safe sewage disposal along with an array of building code issues and problems of drainage that have caused recent bouts of flooding in the Village of South Blooming Grove. At the same time the Village of Washingtonville is nearing completion of its new Comprehensive Plan, which includes plans for "Smart Mixed Growth" along with protective overlays. But the balancing act between growth and protection is not without issues. A pre-submission dialogue with the Blooming Grove Planning Department has added concern this month due to a company wanting to plan two warehouses, one at 400,000 sq. ft. and another at 200,000 sq. ft. in an area at the intersection of Oxford Road and Route 94, surrounded by rural land and single-family homes. We will undoubtedly be hearing a lot more about this proposal and whether some kind of "Smart Planning" with lots of landscaping and a large open space donation might make it tolerable for the surrounding residents a number of which are already vehemently opposing the idea. With these multiple encroachments on wildlife, environmental resources and community quality of life, the opportunities for additional open space grants and protection zones will be critical.
Round Hill, Fall, 2024 from Round Hill Rd.,
Schunnemunk Ridge in the background.
It will be important for the public to attend both Planning Board and Town Board meetings, so they are aware of and participate in resolving this balance between preservation and growth in the near future. Confronted by several residents as to why the Town is considering this, Jeroloman said they have not even received any application yet. While a "Sustainable Business" area has been established for that area, the boards will still have control of all parameters, especially on such a large project if the applicant continues to pursue the project. These days officials have difficult choices when growth is inevitable and when the alternative of housing creates a significant tax hit on property taxes, school taxes, police, roads and other services. The key is lots of participation by the public in negotiations, along with highly prized environmental both grants and protections, along with creative planning, along with plentiful and well-vegetated buffers, mature and attractive landscaping, construction that blends seamlessly into the surroundings, construction and operating schedules that do not negatively impact surrounding homes with noise, fiscal acuity and good communication with both officials and the public. In the end there is potential for either acceptance or refusal of the project proposal. As building inevitably continues in Orange County, if you think this project proposal is bad, check out Becca Tucker's several part story in The Chronicle Newspaper this week about the warehousing boom in this area. She details a plan in Waywayanda for a 3.2-million square-foot, five-story "advanced e-commerce center" powered largely by robots and conveyors. and it's only 1 of 11 mega-warehouses seeking to build in Waywayanda. (story by Becca Tucker).
Might the large parcel at the Oxford corner have hidden benefits of open space, wildlife protection, a trail? Give it a chance... Karen can come forward later if necessary.
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