|
Dover Knolls, Town Spat
05.11.2007
Oren Phillips
Staff Reporter Harlem Valley Times
The town board is not pleased that a press release from the Dover Knolls Development Co. alerted the Harlem Valley Times before the town that the group had created a new memorandum of understanding, further stoking discord between the two.
The developer sent a press release to media outlets on May 7 announcing the revised MOU before sending it to the town board. The town board received the document on May 8, but did not have a chance to review it before press time.
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) is a legal document that describes an agreement between parties and defines their working relationship.
Town attorney Shannon Martin LaFrance faxed an angry letter to the company's lawyer, Michael Zarin, letting him know that she and Supervisor Jill Way should have received the documents first before the press was alerted.
"Were your clients trying to actually move the project forward, one would think it would send the 'revised memorandum of understanding (MOU)' to the Town of Dover rather than the press," she wrote.
"Issues concerning any application to one of the Town of Dover's boards should be communicated to the relevant board," LaFrance wrote, noting, "Anything less is ineffective."
The Dover Knolls Development Co. proposes to convert nearly 850 acres of the former Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center into a transit-based community.
LaFrance's letter went on to say that it was the developers who have delayed the permitting process.
"The reality is that it is Dover Knolls' actions that have delayed the commencement of the project at the site," stated LaFrance in the May 8 letter.
"Dover Knolls made representations to the town board when it first purchased the property that it does not intend to keep," she stated.
The letter stated that none of the applications Dover Knolls submitted is consistent with the "applicable provisions of the town zoning law."
LaFrance also noted the developers are aware the project does not conform with the current town zoning code.
"It is clear now after four years that Dover Knolls wants to build a large subdivision that does not comply with the Dover zoning law and will require a zoning amendment," she stated in the letter.
In her letter, LaFrance places blame on the company, claiming the revised final scoping document would be near completion if the Dover Knolls Development Co. had signed the town's original MOU in March.
"Your client made the unfortunate decision not to sign it, not to timely remedy outstanding violations at the site and not to replenish its escrow accounts, and now here we are," LaFrance said in the letter to Zarin.
In March, each side submitted its own MOU, but could not come to an agreement on the document.
The board and the developers agreed they would like to move the project forward, but could not agree on a vision for the site.
According to LaFrance in her May 8 letter, an MOU is not required to move the project forward or necessary to incorporate good planning into the project.
"An MOU isn't needed and is not a part of the SEQRA process," she said in the letter, referring to the State Environmental Quality Review Act.
"It's not needed to get a project permit. In fact Roger Akeley, commissioner of planning and development for the county, was talking to them about Metro-North and said he didn't recommend using a MOU," LaFrance said.
"They aren't really used in Dutchess County," agreed Way.
LaFrance said the fuss over the MOU has taken the emphasis off the important issue of a project permit.
"We wish they had just amended their project application and that would move things along," she said.
"I haven't even had a chance to look at the MOU yet, so I will make sure the supervisor and the town board get a copy of it and have a chance to review it. Too much focus is being put on a document that is not really needed," LaFrance said.
Dover Knolls
The builders said the MOU is not a binding document and can be changed at any time.
"This doesn't lock the town into a specific plan," said Joe Lafferty of the Dover Knolls Development Co.
"There has been a disconnect on process, and we can't fund a process that is never ending. We hope to hear back from the board soon," he said.
He added that the company is trying to make sure the town is on board with the new urbanism vision that was used to create the concepts for the project.
"Dover Knolls cannot wait indefinitely," stated Zarin.
"It has been close to four years since we purchased the subject property and began the review process, over $16 million in out-of-pocket expenses, and now over six months since we agreed to delay processing our application to supposedly work with the town to formulate a new planned urbanism proposal," he stated.
According to the group, the new MOU reflects many of the changes suggested by the board as a way to get both sides on the same page and agree to move the process along.
"We did more deleting than adding," said Zarin.
"All we are asking is to work in good faith and conceptually agree on a plan to proceed forward. Usually, MOUs are 40 to 50 pages, so we tried to make this as brief a document as possible. The board still maintains authority over the final agreement. We are just looking for a departure point to move the project along," he said.
Zarin suggested creating a MOU to present to the town, and it was the first one the Dover Knolls Development Co. has ever used.
"We've never done one before, but we did it this time to make sure we are on the same page," said Zarin.
"After three or four years of processing, we saw that we were having a hard time getting on the same page. We want to take the time to agree on a conceptual plan," he said.
Zarin said if the town signs the new MOU, the company would revise its scoping document and modify its application to meet the town's requests.
"We would then embark upon the preparation of the DEIS and let people know the impacts of the project on the community," he said, referring to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement.
"Some of our frustration is that when we are close to the DEIS, the town board seems to draw conclusions before the analysis," he said.
"We are also frustrated about not being able to have a dialogue with the public. We hope to get a good faith commitment from the town because we are anxious to get this project going," Zarin said, adding, "There is tremendous potential with the project that will benefit the community financially along with recreational and other benefits."
The town board will look over the updated MOU and contact the Dover Knolls developers with its findings.
» Back to Top | Back to List
|
