September 2009

PINE PLAINS UNITED

We'd like to thank our members who took the time to share their concerns with us following our last email. Most of what we heard was disappoint, disbelief, and, yes, even outrage that the Town Board chose to ignore completely the outpouring of opposition to the NND and the inappropriately high density it would allow. A common theme was a feeling that the Town Board had tailor-made this loophole to accommodate Durst. We share those sentiments completely. While we understand the board wanting a direct role in the approval process, we think their belief that in order to have leverage they must "give away the store" is terribly misguided. Six hundred plus homes is surely better than Durst's initial proposal (almost twice that amount) but it still represents a 50% increase in the number of homes in Pine Plains, which is way too many. Whether they chose to disregard your letters and emails because they figured most of you aren't registered to vote here or live outside the town (but nonetheless pay a huge chunk of the school taxes), is anyone's guess. But clearly they wanted their NND and meant to have it, public opinion be damned. Is having this zoning law better than none at all? Yes. But, the law allows commercial and residential development that clearly conflicts with the goals of the Comprehensive Plan.

This struggle is far from over. PPU will to continue to work to protect our quality of life in Pine Plains as it grows and we need your involvement and support to do so. You can be sure that when the approval processes for the Carvel, Village Green and Parkview projects begin to move forward again, we will be there with our experts, ensuring that these developments are held to the most stringent standards of the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA).

Nor are political options off the table. As you know, there's an election in November and while it's not yet clear whether the opposition will field viable alternatives to those board members whose seats are open (including the Town Supervisor's), there's no better place to register your disapproval than at the polls. (If you haven't yet registered to vote in Pine Plains or one of the surrounding towns please give it serious consideration. The margins with which candidates win or lose towns like ours can often be counted on one hand, your vote could make all the difference. For more information, including registration forms, please visit http://countryvote.org.)

All of us wish this struggle was finally over, we've certainly been at it long enough. Unfortunately, we must soldier on. With your continued support we will do just that. Thanks for all your help.

-Paul, Jim, and the rest of the Steering Committee