Save Craryville wants to limit fueling positions at proposed gas station

COPAKE — As part of their ongoing opposition to GRJH, Inc.’s proposal for a gas station in the hamlet of Craryville, members of the Save Craryville coalition have voiced concerns about the project over the last few months, from storm-water management and on-site wastewater disposal in February to local water contamination in April. At the recent Copake Planning Board meeting on Thursday, May 2, David Gordon, an environmental and land use attorney, represented Save Craryville and its request to reduce the number of fueling positions from 12 to six.

In a letter addressed to Copake Planning Board Chairman Robert Haight and the board, Gordon said that since GRJH first proposed the facility, the application has been limited to six fueling positions arranged in three islands with a fueling position on either side of each island. He said that formed the basis of the Copake Zoning Board of Appeals’ State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) negative declaration and its award of a special use permit for the project. A negative declaration indicates there is no perceived adverse effect to the environment as a result of the project.

Going back to the board meeting on Thursday, April 4, Gordon reminded Haight of his comment  about how the project is allowed to have six “dispensers” for gasoline. Given the ambiguity of the term “dispenser,” Gordon asked on behalf of the coalition to confirm that a maximum of six fueling positions will be allowed at the facility, which will refer to six places for vehicles to park and fill their tanks.

“It is critical to ensure accuracy in the number of fueling positions,” Gordon said in his letter, “because an exceedance will result in traffic projections far greater than contemplated in the SEQRA review and also will result in a renewed implication to the public of a regionally oriented travel center rather than a local facility.”

If approvals are to be issued for this project, Gordon advised the board to limit it to six fueling positions and either attach an explicit condition or place a clear specification on the plan that includes the limitation.

Save Craryville leader Jamie Carano reported on a later date that Haight confirmed via email that the proposal site can only have six fueling positions. To avoid any ambiguity or misrepresentation by GRJH and the board, the coalition requested that this limitation be put in writing and updated in the facility’s site plans.