Amenia ZBA sets strategy for Kent Hollow Mine appeal

AMENIA — Far fewer people attended the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) meeting than were expected on Thursday, Sept. 28, even though the controversial Kent Hollow Mine application was on the agenda. 

Kent Hollow is in the midst of appealing a zoning violation for being a nonconforming use. 

The mine, located at 341 South Amenia Road opposite Clark Hill Road, is not in the town’s soil mining overlay district, yet it wants “to develop a new 33-acre sand and gravel mine on an 82-plus acre parcel, and remove 750,000 cubic yards of material in seven phases,” according to documents from the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), which is lead agency in the review. 

Kent Hollow operated a mine on a smaller scale at the site years ago; its original permit expired in 1989. In 2016, Kent Hollow submitted an application to the town of Amenia to increase its mining operations, but withdrew it shortly afterward; it resubmitted the application in February of this year.

At last week’s meeting, roughly a half-dozen audience members, plus those involved in the application, were present. At the start of the meeting, the public was asked to wait in the hallway while the ZBA held an executive session for the purpose of discussing strategy with counsel.

 Recusals

Once the public meeting reopened, ZBA member Michael Chamberlin spoke, addressing the applicant’s request that anyone who had previously penned a letter in opposition of the mine recuse him or herself from the review. Chamberlin said he gave the issue considerable thought.

“I’ve decided not to recuse myself,” he said. “I think it’s on the record five years ago that I wrote two letters in opposition to the project. Five years ago my daughter was 10 years old, riding a pony on the property adjacent to the mine. I know enough about ponies and how they react to noise … I didn’t like it.”

That was what Chamberlin said was “the primary factor” in his past objections to the project. He said other things have also changed since then. He’s no longer an officer of the Oblong Valley Association (OVA), which was established in 1989 to “encourage the preservation of the scenic beauty, resources, and environment of Dutchess County and neighboring area,” according to its website, www.oblongvalleyassociation.org.

“As an officer, I felt I needed to show leadership,” he said, noting that OVA has taken a hard line against the mine. “I’m no longer affiliated with that organization, and my daughter is now 16 and a competitive rider who does most of her riding out of state — not riding a little pony around.”

Chamberlin went on to say the legality of the mine application has been questioned, and noted that as an attorney, he’s no stranger to legal issues.

“The legal issue is the essence of what we’re here to do and I think I’m equipped to do that in a fair and balanced way,” he said.

Two others have recused themselves from the ZBA: member Dave Menegat and counsel Dave Everett. Both men did so voluntarily at a board meeting in early September, Menegat because he wrote a letter against the mine previously and “felt it would be cleaner if he recused himself,” according to ZBA Chairman Jeff Barnett-Winsby.

Meanwhile, Councilwoman Vicki Doyle, whose home neighbors the mine, recused herself from the Town Board’s review of Kent Hollow. She said recusals are tough for boards to deal with.

“When they do recusals, we have very little time,” she said, referencing Everett’s recusal. “It’s not an easy issue they’re defending, so not any lawyer will do. We need someone well versed. Everybody involved has a lot at stake.”

Everett not only recused himself from the Kent Hollow review — he stepped down from his position as ZBA counsel — due to the applicant’s objections regarding several letters he wrote against the mine previously. Barnett-Winsby, though, said those letters “were at the employment of the Town Board,” but said Everett “felt it was cleaner for him to create some separation.” 

 New counsel

The ZBA now has new counsel, George Lithco, who noted at last week’s meeting that there’s “a long history” with the mine in Amenia, and “issues and facts that we need to explore further.”

Lithco referred to that history, and said sifting through it will take time.

“Because these are documents, in some cases, that are 30 years old,” he said, “we’d like to set some ground rules about how to evaluate this.”

Lithco said once the application is deemed complete, a public hearing will be scheduled. 

“I assume there will be a petition from neighbors and residents about the activities,” he said. 

 Research takes time

Kent Hollow Mine attorney Allan Rappleyea said he and his client “want to cooperate with any reasonable requests.”

He noted that because some of the documents that need to be reviewed are from as far back as 1971, the town should not “take multiple bites from the apple,” and make numerous requests for past records.

“Please make your request, and I’ll certainly consider it and talk to my client,” Rappalyea said. “I’m not trying to be obstinate, but I’m not going to, frankly, permit a witch hunt from 1970 to ‘72.

 Providing proof

According to Barnett-Winsby, Kent Hollow has to establish it “fully intended to mine the entire property at the beginning,” to be OK’d under the mining law.

“What we’re looking for are things like the initial mining plans submitted to the DEC with the plans to mine map, the investment in infrastructure over the years in roads and test sites; things like that help establish intentions,” Barnett-Winsby said. “That’s essentially what we’re trying to explore.”

He said that the town has been researching records as far back as 2007, but added Kent Hollow’s records dating back to the ‘70s could also prove helpful. 

Kent Hollow principal Greg Steiner said last week that he has no idea how long the process will take, especially in light of the recusals. He said that his company is interested in “just mining gravel,” and that it’s responded to all DEC requests thus far.

“We’re just trying to maintain our property rights,” Steiner said. 

 Continuous use?

But South Amenia resident Phil Sicker said those rights should be questioned, especially because, he said, Kent Hollow has not been mining regularly since the ‘80s. Sicker’s home is at the entrance to the mine site.

“As a homeowner who has lived there for 21 years, I can tell you that I have seen in that time no evidence of this alleged mining,” he said. “The premise that it’s continuous is absurd. We all know the gravel mine is not a quiet business. It’s noisy, it raises dust, truck traffic — it’s simply not plausible that for 21 years it’s been in operation or that their claims for continuous usage are true.”

Sicker added that his son stood waiting for his school bus in front of the mine for 280 days a year, for many years, and that a mine operation could not have been missed. 

That’s important, because by claiming the mine’s been in continuous operation, Kent Hollow hopes to establish it’s a permitted use under the town’s zoning — circumventing the necessity for the entire ZBA review process. If not, it would be considered a new use, subject to the current review. 

“Unless I’m deaf and blind, which I’m not yet, and unless gravel mining has suddenly achieved the technology of silence, I don’t buy it,” Sicker said.

 Other concerns

And there are other issues, namely the presence of endangered species like bog turtles and timber rattlesnakes. According to the OVA, the proposed project “is at the interface between two priority conservation zones: the Webatuck-Tenmile Riparian Corridor and the Rattlesnake Ridge.” Nearby are Bog Hollow and East Mountain.

“Thebiodiversity of these areas is great. The area also lies in the newly created Great Thicket area. It’s in a hot spot of biodiversity,” stated the OVA report.

Additionally, exhaust, fumes, noise and sound pollution concerns run deep, especially as South Amenia is zoned residential and agricultural.

“It’s lovely,” said Sicker. “The future of Dutchess County is not in gravel mines anymore. It’s agriculture, tourism — and keeping this area of Dutchess County pristine is important. But there are threats to the environment, large and small, and this is one of them.”

Kent Hollow will likely be on the board’s November agenda. If its appeal is successful, the mine will still need site plan approval from the town.