August 28, 2025

Here’s what’s happening…

The Saugerties Town Board, in its capacity as "lead agency" for the Winston Farm SEQRA process, has been reviewing the public comments submitted by Beautiful Saugerties and other agencies and individuals since the end of July (when public comment period ended).

The owners of Winston Farm reduced the amount of open space from 73.5% in the first DGEIS to 50% in the revised version. We have heard that some, if not all, of the board members are now leaning towards a "compromise" figure of 60% (still undefined, but not including recreational space), instead of the 73.5% repeatedly supported by public comment and well-documented by historical precedent and expert opinion.

We need to contact the members of the town board right away to let them know that the figure of 73.5% open space (defined as contiguous undevelopable space that includes the woodlands and wetlands in their entirety and a substantial part of the grasslands) is not a negotiating figure. It is a good faith number that should not be made into a bargaining chip. It is a minimum number that is already lower than biodiversity experts have proposed.

Furthermore, it leaves more than enough of the property available for the owners to make a reasonable profit. Not perhaps the killing they have been planning on (nor is it the responsibility of the town board to ensure that they make any profit at all). Nevertheless, the remaining acreage is ample for solid profits to be realized.