Mine submits final Environmental Assessment Form

AMENIA — After reviewing Ridgecrest Farm’s final data presentation, the Town Board passed a resolution that introduces Local Law No. 2 of 2011. Local Law No. 2 would amend the Amenia zoning map to add 65 acres on Sinpatch Road to the Soil Mining Overlay (SMO) Zoning District.

Local Law No. 2 will be discussed at a public hearing to be held on June 16. That 65-acre parcel of land is currently in the rural residential zoning use district.

The existing SMO consists of four parcels of land located directly north and east of the 65-acre section being added to the SMO.

Before the Town Board would consider amending the zoning map, the owners of the land, Ridgecrest Farms, Inc., had to submit an application and a Long Form Environmental Assessment Form (EAF) presentation to demonstrate that the land meets specific criteria defined by the comprehensive plan update and the zoning law.

The criteria from both the comprehensive plan update and the zoning law aim to preserve the character and environment of Amenia and to protect local residents.

The comprehensive plan update states that the land must be “in areas that are not visible from major roads, that are reasonable distances from residential neighbors and environmental resources such as streams, wetlands and important habitats, that have convenient and direct access to state and county highways and that have readily accessible sand and/or gravel deposits.”

The plan also states that mining operations must only be conducted “in a manner that does not annoy residential neighbors, detract from scenic views, harm the environment, damage town roads or destroy valuable agricultural land.”

The zoning law will allow the mining in order to “provide jobs, produce needed building materials and support agricultural operations, while protecting the rural peace and quiet enjoyed by town residents.”  

The law further stipulates that mining will only be allowed in “locations where it will help promote the town’s goals of maintaining rural character with minimum disturbance to residential neighbors … and where there are sand and gravel resources that have adequate highway access, sufficient buffering from nearby residences to avoid disturbance to residential neighbors and minimal visual impact on publicly accessible places.”

The final application and presentation included an extensive biodiversity study, a visual impact assessment, a noise impact assessment, a traffic study, an archaeological report and a plan for the closure of a former state-owned ash landfill partially located on the property. Based on this presentation, the Town Board concluded that the applicant has satisfactorily met all required criteria.

During the final presentation, the applicants declared that the reasonable duration of the mining operation, which is based on the size of the mine, the quality of the soil and the economic demand, is estimated to be between 15 and 20 years.

The mining operation will be restricted by area more than time. Only 5 acres will be mined at a time.

The addition of this parcel of land to the SMO will make the land eligible for a special use permit from the town that would allow gravel mining operations, but it would not guarantee that this permit or any other required permits would be granted.

Learn more & get involved

Have something to say about the proposed Ridgecrest Farms zoning change and the proposed soil and gravel mine?

There are two things residents of Amenia can do to learn more about the project and have their opinions heard:

1. Contact the Amenia Town Hall at 845-373-8860 or stop in to the Town Hall building at 4988 Route 22 in Amenia. Residents can make an appointment to view any of the hundreds of pages of information regarding the zoning change and the proposed mine, including the proposed Local Law No. 2 of 2011. There are also videos of previous Town Board meetings where the Ridgecrest proposal was discussed that can be viewed.

2. Attend the public hearing about the Ridgecrest proposal. That meeting will be held at the Amenia Town Hall on Thursday, June 16, at 7 p.m. The public hearing is specifically designed to give residents a chance to voice their concerns, ask questions or give praise, and most importantly weigh in on this matter. All community members, both for and against the project, are encouraged to attend.