Route 28: A Brief History of Planning
Route 28 is one of the main traffic arteries through the Catskill Mountains. It possesses high scenic value and is critical for moving visitors from the N.Y. State Thruway, north and west, through some of the most rural parts of the Catskills. Until the late 1950s, the road was an integral part of each community as it meandered through the hamlets and villages bringing travelers to a business’ front door. However, when it was straightened, bypassing the hamlets to improve traffic flow, travelers were forced to exit the highway to visit the business centers. This remains a significant challenge to each community’s economic growth and vitality. Route 28 parallels several streams and rivers including the Esopus, Birch Creek, the Binnekill and the East Branch of the Delaware River. These water bodies contribute significantly to the road’s scenic quality, but they also complicate the prospect for development as much of the land between the highway and the rivers is located in a floodplain, and the rivers are important tributaries to New York City’s Ashokan and Pepacton Reservoirs and must be protected.

In 1994, a concerned group of citizens began meeting to discuss these and other challenges confronting communities along the Route 28 corridor. After a period of 8 months, the group, calling themselves the "Route 28 Corridor Committee" and chaired by Dean Gitter, produced The Route 28 Corridor Study. This study laid out a vision for the corridor’s future economic growth with attention to protecting natural resources. In general, the study suggested a maximization of facilities at Belleayre Mountain (site of the state-run Belleayre Mountain Ski Center) and the revitalization of the two villages at its base, Pine Hill and Fleischmanns. The study states "The various hamlets along the corridor provide services to the visitor and should serve as the hubs for future concentrated development." The study went further stating "...four or five 100 room hotels, built over a 5-10 year period, would be far more viable than either a multiplicity of smaller units or dependence on a mammoth new resort." The study also strongly recommended expanding the Belleayre Ski Mountain Ski Center.

New York City’s Filtration Avoidance Determination
Also in the mid nineties, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) expressed concern for the long-term protection of New York City’s unfiltered water supply in the Catskills. Should the water degrade in quality, the EPA would force the City of New York to build a filtration plant at a cost of approximately six billion dollars plus costly annual maintenance. In order for the City to receive a Filtration Avoidance Determination (FAD) from the EPA (meaning the City would not have to build a filtration plant because water quality remained high), the City would need to take bold proactive steps to protect its upstate watershed.

Because a forest ecosystem is an effective water filter, protecting forests and open space is the best way to protect water quality for the long term. As a result, the City of New York proposed an aggressive land-purchasing program in the Catskills. By owning the land, the City would protect the forests and reduce the amount of new impervious surfaces (roads, roofs, parking lots etc) built in the watershed. This is critical because the most significant source of pollution in any watershed is runoff from these surfaces. However, upstate towns cried foul and justifiably demanded compensation, since increased land ownership and land-use regulations by the City would severely limit the potential for economic growth throughout the region.

Finally, in 1997 under the leadership of Governor Pataki, the landmark Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed between a coalition of upstate towns, and the city of New York (The Catskill Center is also a signatory). In the agreement, the city could move forward with a land acquisition program (willing seller/willing buyer only), but in exchange would provide towns in the watershed support in a variety of significant ways. The City’s support included the construction of new salt and sand storage facilities, new sewer treatment plants near the hamlets, a septic replacement program for landowners, and new storm-water control systems for the hamlets and towns. Finally, a 60 million dollar economic stimulus fund, the Catskill Fund for the Future (CFF), was created to promote environment-friendly business growth in the region. By 2004, the city had invested over 1 billion dollars in its upstate watershed (west of Hudson only) not including taxes paid on the properties they owned there. Another important component of the MOA was the formation of The Catskill Watershed Corporation (CWC), a not-for-profit organization chartered with fiduciary oversight and implementation of several City funded programs.

As agreed to in MOA, the CWC commissioned the firm of Hamilton, Rabinovitz & Alshuler, (HR&A) to study how to best utilize the Catskill Fund for the Future to ensure a balance was struck between economic development and water quality protection. The results of the HR&A Study were not unlike that of the Route 28 Corridor Study, but they went further. The HR&A study emphasized focusing development within existing hamlets. The study said, "The hamlets and villages are among the watershed’s most important assets from an environmental protection standpoint. New economic activity within these centers can make use of existing infrastructure, thereby limiting the amount of land that would be cleared to accommodate new development." It continued, "Active recreation in the watershed can create conditions that are detrimental to water quality. In particular, skiing and golf can have greater impacts due to water-use for snowmaking or irrigation from clearing large sections of land. Also, the use of herbicides and fertilizers on cleared land such as golf courses present possible water quality impacts." It continued "communities felt strongly that they desire and strive for a sense of place for their residents. There was a sense of pride when people spoke of their community and a willingness to preserve the existing character."

More recently, under the leadership of Governor George Pataki, the Quality Communities Interagency Task Force laid out a vision for community development for the state that also emphasized quality of life for all residents. The study concluded that "a quality community is a safe family environment, it’s a vitality and community pride with the residents... it is growth in accordance with local plans and policies; it is concern for the environment. It’s protection for the character of our communities." The task force called for revitalizing Main Streets and small towns and conserving open space and other critical environmental resources through sustainable development.

Other Development Projects along the Route 28 Corridor
The Catskill Mountain region is growing. Land values are increasing, home values are up and realtors have reported dramatic increases in home buying interest. There are several housing and development projects already planned for the Rt. 28 corridor. In fact, in the Village of Margaretville, a motel owner is planning to expand from a 30-bed facility to a 75-100-room hotel, exactly the scale recommended in the Route 28 Corridor study. The Belleayre Mountain Ski Center is also growing. Visitation is up and the state run ski center plans to implement an expansion (which is within their constitutional right), adding 7 miles of new trail and doubling their current attendance over the next 8 years. There is no doubt that growth is occurring. With growth comes renewed opportunity for better jobs and an overall increase in the economic well being for our local businesses and their employees. These are welcomed changes. But not all forms of development serve the best interest of our hamlets and locally owned small businesses.

The Proposed Belleayre Resort
The Belleayre Resort at Catskill Park is the largest development project ever proposed for the Catskill region, in fact, there is nothing like it for comparison in the northeastern United States. This 573-acre development project would straddle the Belleayre Mountain Ski Center to both the east and west. The eastern component is located in the Town of Shandaken, Ulster County, and drains to the Ashokan Reservoir. The western component is west of the of the ski center and is in the Town of Middletown, Delaware County, and drains to the Pepacton Reservoir. The Belleayre Resort will include two championship golf courses and related maintenance buildings, two resort hotels (400 total rooms), 351 times share units and detached hotel rooms in 98 separate buildings with related infrastructure, two sewer treatment plants, underground parking facilities, hotel-related shops, a spa, multiple restaurants and a 21-lot subdivision of private homes.

Parts of the project will be built at relatively high elevations and on steep slopes made up primarily of clay soils. This is significant because clay soils are notoriously susceptible to erosion, and once suspended in water, are extremely difficult to remove. The developer is requesting permission to clear-cut 50 acres at one time although state law limits clear cutting to only 5 acre blocks because of soil erosion potential. The construction of roads, buildings, parking lots, and fairways, some of which will require rock blasting and the importation of nearly 1 million cubic yards of soil, all present serious concerns about storm-water runoff control, particularly at this location. Runoff issues are made more significant because herbicides and insecticides will be applied in large quantities to maintain the high quality fairways and greens on both golf courses. Storm-water control, sewage treatment and effluent controls are of grave concern to water quality not only for the city’s drinking supply, but also for aquatic species, especially trout, because trout fishing is an important component of our local economy. The eastern half of the project drains into Birch Creek, officially classified as a spawning stream for trout. Birch Creek empties into the Esopus Creek, the main portal to the Ashokan Reservoir. The Esopus Creek is already (before the project) classified as an "impaired" water body by state standards, and therefore is already a fragile aquatic system.

The developer projects 435,860 persons would stay at the timeshare and club interval ownerships per year. Also, they project annually 195,250 persons will stay in the hotels for a total of 631,110 new visitors to the Route 28 corridor each year, not including the residents living in the 21-lot subdivision. Combine that with the expected increased visitation by 150,000 annually as a result of the proposed expansion of the Belleayre Mountain Ski Center, and in 10 years (a very short period of time), there could be nearly 800,000 more visitors traveling along the route 28 corridor annually to these two destinations alone.

Although the project is expected to provide 665 direct and 211 indirect full-time equivalent jobs, with only about 200 unemployed in the towns of Middletown and Shandaken combined, the question arises as to where the new workers will live. 80% of all jobs at the proposed resort will be service oriented, likely paying above minimum wage, but not more than $10 per hour. The DEIS also states that either the Starwoods Corporation or the Marriott Corporation would ultimately run this facility. This is significant because an important component of smart growth is to nurture businesses that are locally owned and remain an integral part of the community, businesses that contribute to a community’s sense of place. The DEIS clearly states that the resort will in some cases compete directly with the local businesses in the region.

A Smaller Alternative?
It defies reason to conclude that a project as large as the proposed Belleayre Resort could not be built on a smaller scale and remain economically viable. An alternative may exist that is both economically viable and environmentally acceptable. Because the eastern side of the project is the more environmentally sensitive location, perhaps some development on the western site could occur that mitigates many environmental concerns while providing a profit for the developer and his investors.

Our Position
After careful consideration, we came to the conclusion that the Belleayre Resort as it is currently proposed, from both an environmental and economic perspective, is unsuitable for the Catskill Park and the New York City Watershed. It belies logic to assume that even the best engineering available can prevent significant environmental damage from disruption on this scale, at this location, while having no impact on the character of our small rural communities. The Belleayre Resort, as proposed, represents the antithesis to the community growth and development philosophy we have outlined above. Most of us live here because we are passionate about the beauty of Catskill Park. In fact, it is that very beauty this mega-resort aims to capitalize on. We recognize that this region faces many challenges, but they can and will be overcome.

The Catskill Center for Conservation and Development is not opposed to development in the region, nor are we adverse to thoughtful planned growth in our communities. Indeed, it is exactly what we are committed to. We will continue to provide leadership, expertise and support for the development of sustainable communities throughout the Catskills. Revitalizing our Main Streets, and encouraging small business development, while conserving open space and other critical environmental resources is the means by which we can preserve community character and create sustainable economic growth. To that end, The Catskill Center will continue to move forward the ideas articulated in the HR&A study, the Route 28 Corridor Study and agreed upon in the MOA, and we will continue to provide the support, leadership and expertise to attain them.

- Tom Alworth
Executive Director