Gravel mine would create three preserved farms, neighbor says

AMENIA — A formal presentation was made to the Amenia Town Board last Thursday in hopes the town would approve a zoning amendment for an approximately 76-acre piece of property on Sinpatch Road in Wassaic. The goal is that the land will be added to the soil mining overlay district and that a gravel mining business could be created by Ian Holback.

Holback, who is from Wingdale, has already entered into a contract to purchase a roughly 144-acre piece of property, which includes the acreage in question, from Allan Shope, the owner of nearby Listening Rock Farm.

Presenting at the Feb. 18 Town Board meeting was Donald Cappillino, Holback’s attorney.

Cappillino said that the property already abuts existing properties included in the soil mining district overlay. Of the 144 total acres Holback is purchasing, only the 76 acres mentioned above would be affected by the proposed zoning change.

According the town’s comprehensive plan, Cappillino said, the 76-acre property meets all four criteria set out for possible inclusion in the soil mining overlay district. Those criteria are an existence of sand and gravel resources, adequate highway access, sufficient buffering from nearby residences and minimal visual impact on publicly accessible places.

“I think the property is so well screened and placed back that [people in] publicly accessible places won’t see the operations going on,� Cappillino said.

Shope, who was present at the meeting, took the opportunity to lobby in favor of the project. Shope explained that he had purchased three properties from the state in 2000, including land where the old Taconic State DDSO (Developmental Disabilities Services Organization) was located. Listening Rock Farm was built on one of the properties.

“I’m not a developer,� Shope stressed. “I believe in land conservation.� Shope announced plans that he and his wife, Julie, would be tearing down the remaining DDSO buildings to build a house on the former DDSO property.

“What I get in return [from selling the property to Holback] is a protected piece of property that will remain farmland forever,� Shope said. Holback’s attorney confirmed that a conservation easement would be created for the property.

“The long-term prognosis for Sinpatch Road is the creation of three farms,� Shope added. “There’s one that exists now [Listening Rock Farm], one that’s about to exist [the property the Shopes are building their house on] and this mining site. It’s a wonderful use to protect farmland.�

Shope invited the Town Board and Planning Board on a field trip to the property so they could see the property first hand.

A formal zoning change application was presented to the board. Attorney to the Town Michael Hayes explained that the zoning amendment was only the first of two processes needed to convert the property. A special use permit application, which would involve both the town and the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation, would need to follow.

“I’d be interested in seeing what the CAC [the town’s Conservation Advisory Council] thinks about this,� said Councilwoman Darlene Riemer. “These people look at these things all the time.�

Riemer said she would need to know much more about the depth of the property, the possible effects of a gravel mine and the pros and cons of the proposal before she would reach a decision.

Councilwoman Vicki Doyle, whose husband, Mark, chairs the CAC, said that the committee is very aware of both the property and the project and will be a valuable resource for the town to utilize moving forward.