Village Green attorney won't reveal changes to development

PINE PLAINS - Erica Powers, who represents TomLew, the company behind the Village Green development, said that changes are in the works for the development project.

However, she would not specify what those changes would be.

"What happens when you try to amend or start a new project, you start by doing fact finding, like what the [moratorium] law would be and what it won't be," Powers said. "Because the project has been around for more than four years, it makes sense to ask the town's consultants and board about how to change [plans for the project] in light of new concerns."

Powers said that the project would not remain the same.

"I can't say it will remain the same because I know it won't," she said. "However, we don't have specifics. As you can imagine, when you are in that kind of discussion with the Planning Board, you don't want balloons up in the paper. We are in discussions with them and as soon as we have an appropriate amendment, we will be before the Planning Board."

Powers did say the company might look at how the project could be more environmentally friendly.

"There is a lot of talk now about carbon emissions, walkability and energy conservation," she said. "If there is a place where people can live and work, where they can go to the store all without having to drive, that is more environmentally conserving. We are trying to figure out ways in which having mixed use, residential and office, could be all put within walking distance with each other."

She would not say how many buildings, both commercial and residential, would be part of the development.

While she did identify Tomer Slutsky as the primary partner for the project, she would not name the other partners in the project.

"Why is that relevant?" she asked.

Slutsky, meanwhile, did not return calls for this story.