manor_ink_dec_2021_for_web

Doable plan or
‘free-for-all’ ?
Continued from pg. 1
during spring snow melts and heavy summer
rains. Because the developers planned
to construct the project’s homes off site,
they contended that there would be relatively
little noise or disruption to affect residents
adjacent to the property.
Those residents, however, disagreed.
Original plan sparked concerns
Immediately after the Broadacre Farm
article appeared, the project’s neighbors
began to voice their concerns. Zintis
Muiznieks, a home owner on High St., said
he and his neighbors on Hoag Rd. had never
been contacted by the developers regarding
the plan. Two other neighbors, Helen
Williams and Nia Augello, also voiced their
concerns about drainage, potential flooding,
increased traffic and poor road access.
When Manor Ink relayed these concerns
to Broadacre’s Joseph Satto, he said he then
contacted property owners on High St. and
Hoag Rd. to “ allay their fears” and to clarify
the proposed plans. High St. was subsequently
removed as a road to be connected
to the development.
That change required a reworking of
the original development configuration.
To facilitate other changes, hydrologist
Paul Rubin of HydroQuest Environmental
Consulting in Tivoli, NY, was retained to
advise the developers on storm water design.
Randall Ardent of Greener Prospects
in Brunswick, ME, a conservation consulting
firm, was added to help “substantially
improve the perilous runoff conditions the
site experiences.” With all the reworking of
the site plan that was required, the project
going forward, according to Sacco, would
be “moving at its own pace.”
A revamped vision
After more than a year, the new plan
was presented. The design for a reconfigured
Broadacre Farm, now called Livingston
Farm, was unwrapped at the Town of
Rockland Planning Board meeting on Nov.
3. The new plan calls for only 16 singlefamily
houses and two detached duplexes,
made up of a mix of for-sale or for-rent
units. New to the design is a complex of
what the builders refer to as their “hospitality
component,” including a ten-room
inn, a ten-room guest house and 21 cabins.
In addition, they envision having a 60-seat
restaurant which they refer to as a “3-meal,
Current Livingston Farm proposal
Including 20 residences, an inn, cabins, a restaurant, camping and a farm on 117 acres
High St.
Hoag Rd.
River St.
2
1. Residential homes area
2. Agricultural easements
WILLOWEMOC CREEK
ASSESSING DETAILS Members of the Rockland
Planning Board review the new plan for
the proposed Livingston Farm development.
Michelle Adams-Thomas photo
farm-to-table” dining facility.
The hospitality component would be located
on the eastern side of the property,
with an entirely new road coming off Creamery
Rd. as the entry into the development.
The High St. connection has been eliminated
entirely, and Hoag Rd. is envisioned as an
egress only. Still included is the small farm.
After the presentation of the new proposal,
the board heard from Patrick Hins,
an engineer with MHE Engineering in Milford,
PA, who had reviewed the plans for
the board. He had scrutinized the entire
project and had 23 points that he felt needed
to be addressed before the application
could be considered. Those ranged from
things that needed to be changed, modified
2
Creamery Rd.
3. Inn, cabin, camping locations
4. Hiking trail network
1
4
or eliminated, to issues that required submission
to various governmental agencies.
With that number of issues in question, it
seems unlikely the Livingston Farm plan
will be brought back to the planning board
until sometime next year.
Residents voice objections
3
Rendering courtesy of Livingston Farm
Approximate development
boundaries
Present at the Nov. 3 meeting were some
of the proposed project’s neighbors, many
of whom have expressed concerns. They
and others are still doubtful about the effect
Livingston Farm will have on what is
already a difficult flooding situation. They
also have real concerns that the increased
traffic caused by the development will create
problems on Hoag and Creamery roads.
Many are worried that the project could
substantially alter the rural nature of the
community.
“None of the principals has experience
with agricultural projects, and I don’t think
they have a good grasp of the problem,”
Nina Augello said. Because her property
fronts on High St., she is primarily concerned
about increased runoff.
Another neighbor, Joy Oriol, whose family
has owned acreage adjacent to the Livingston
Farm property since 1986, feels
the answer to the question of whether the
hillside is a suitable place to build is an emphatic
no! “If the project isn’t scaled down
dramatically, we should assume the goal is
profits for the developers vs. the community’s
well-being,” she said.
“It’s too much, too fast,” said Jamie Helper
who lives on Creamery Rd. Because she
lives directly down hill from the proposed
3
3
N
NEWS
MANOR INK | DEC. 2021 |
‘If the project isn’t scaled down
dramatically, we should assume the
goal is profits for the developers vs.
the community’s well-being.’
Joy Oriol
Hoag Rd. property owner
7
development and has never been contacted
by the builders, she feels her property is in
“a precarious position.” She fears increased
flooding and possible mud slides.
Zintis Muiznieks has been an outspoken
opponent of the project since its inception.
“We have no faith or trust in [the developers’]
experience to navigate this type of
project. We are in a reactive mode,” he said.
He added that the hamlet has been responsive
to his concerns.
Residents are not alone in their doubts.
Originally retained by the Broadacre team as
a landscape designer, Karin Ursula Edmondson
of Karin Ursula Landscapes, stepped
away from the project several months ago.
Recently, the developers reached out to her
again to “get this across the finish line,” but
she declined to rejoin the project. Regarding
the new version of the development, Edmondson
did not mince words.
“Broadacre is Disneyland – campsites,
farm, restaurant, houses, etc. The planning
process has been Disneyland since its inception.
Constantly changing, trying to fit
an angle, all angles, many angles – a freefor-all,”
she said. “Broadacre aims to turn
Livingston Manor into a suburban homeowners-association
hell. This is how soulkilling
suburbs begin.”
“During an early iteration of the plan, we
invited Karin to consult on a limited basis
with respect to a single aspect of the project
– landscaping,” said developer Joseph Sato
in reply. “She was never part of the Broadacre
team and was not privy to any discussions
regarding the larger project. After a
brief period of time, it became clear that she
lacked the necessary landscaping expertise
and understanding of sustainable development
to assist any further.” Sato added,
“That said, we believe that by implementing
an organic, regenerative farming operation
on what was, for decades, a fallow
and neglected farm, conserving a large
portion of the 117 acres in its natural state
and developing the property with minimal
site disturbance and a net zero carbon footprint,
the project embodies the exact opposite
of what she describes ... We hope that
both guests and residents alike will feel the
same excitement that a child might experience
on their first trip to Disneyland.”