An update in April, 2026

A waiting game. The owners submitted their revised proposal (a Draft Generic Environmental Impact study, DGEIS) at the end of April, 2025. Hundreds of public comments were submitted by the deadline of July 28th. Now the Town Board and we are waiting for the owners to respond to all those comments.

But we have not been idle.

Paul Rubin, Professional Geologist, Hydrogeologist, was granted a Privilege of the Floor at the November 19. 2025, meeting of the Town Board. His remarks about the aquifer under Winston Farm included information about the historical frequency of droughts and introduced the concept of “fair use” of the water from the aquifer. Beautiful Saugerties members followed up Mr. Rubin’s report with their concerns about the proposed water useage.

At the March 18, 2026, meeting of the Town Board, Beautiful Saugerties was granted the Privilege of the Floor. Members demonstrated that the owners’ consultants presented the evidence that the 500 acres of upland rocky and forested slopes should be preserved. They function as the recharge area of the aquifer, are a vast carbon sink, a web of wetlands, and provide a varied habitat for a wide variety of flora and fauna. Read the full comments here or watch a short video that covers the same information.