Letters to the editor
In response to Marty Martin’s letter of February 5
In response to Marty Martin’s letter (2/05), YES! Citizens for a Beautiful Saugerties is indeed “one-sided,” as are the supporters of the proposed rezoning of Winston Farm. We are well aware that the Winston Farm property is zoned for residential development. What we oppose is the (disingenuous) plan to rezone it as proposed, on the grounds that the environmental destruction would be unconscionable at any time but particularly at this time of devastating global climate change, biodiversity loss, threatened ecological zones and endangered fresh water supplies. This is the way the planet dies, 850 acres at a time.
Mr. Martin says that people who support preservation, either the Town of Saugerties or some non-profit, could have purchased the property themselves but missed the boat. If another group without deep pockets had been able to get the fantastic deal that the current owners got on the property, it might well have been purchased and preserved long ago.
The current owners (and their investors, who are implied by “Winston Farm LLC”) have been offered more than double the purchase price for the property by a non-profit. They turned it down flat. The smell of really big bucks is in the air — a possible return of 15 times what they paid. Smart business, bad ethics.
Mr. Martin says that Winston Farm must be rezoned to be able to create growth (the very concept of which needs to be reexamined in the 21st century) in Saugerties. If it’s jobs and housing that local supporters of Winston Farm LLC really want, there are plenty of spots in Saugerties already zoned for residential and commercial development. No need to trash Winston Farm to achieve those goals. And why do local supporters imagine that any housing built or jobs created would be for them/us? They will go to the highest bidders and most qualified applicants from wherever. More newcomers! Be careful what you wish for!
The support for this boondoggle project comes from Ulster County Chamber of Commerce, NOT our local branch, and Ulster County Economic Development, again a group whose plans for the future do not include the well-being of the residents of Saugerties in particular. And we have no idea who the investors represented by the “LLC (Limited Liability Corporation) are or aren’t. It’s unclear and unlikely that the pockets to be lined are all in the trousers of Mr. Montano, Mr. Richers and Mr. Mullen.
Finally, Mr. Martin claims that we’re just darned lucky that the owners haven’t already sold the property off in parcels. But under the current zoning, they can’t! That would only be possible if it is rezoned as a planned development district, and that is also the only way to make the big bucks off Winston Farm.
The application to rezone the property as purchased (zoned as residential) reeks of opportunism, anyway. You don’t buy environmentally sensitive property zoned as residential and then try to change it so you can make huge profits, any more than you marry someone and then send them to the plastic surgeon to make them look the way you want.
I have just addressed Mr. Martin’s stated concerns, but I have yet to have the concerns I raise (and have repeatedly raised) addressed by anyone, from full-on supporters to well-meaning but confused advocates of compromise before the specifics of a negotiation have even been proposed. The Beautiful Saugerties website (beautifulsaugerties.com/winstonfarm) lists a number of specifics we would want addressed should any development occur at Winston Farm. Please take a look if you’re interested in a responsible approach to this issue.
Janet Moss
Citizens for a Beautiful Saugerties
Saugerties
