LIVINGSTON MANOR –– Residents and community stakeholders packed into the Livingston Manor Firehouse for a recent scoping session and public hearing held by the Rockland Planning Board for the proposed Broadacre/Livingston Farm project.

Having been in the works for two and a half to three years, the proposed project is located on a 117-acre mountainside former dairy farm on 26 Hoag Road in Livingston Manor. It currently proposes a 15-lot subdivision, as well as construction of nine residential homes with an agritourism operation including a regenerative farm, 42-unit campground and hotel with a restaurant and guest house.

The Rockland Planning Board, acting as lead agency in the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) process, recently issued a Positive Declaration finding that the project may have potentially significant adverse environmental impacts and that a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) must be prepared. 

The purpose of the meeting was to consider comments on the Draft Scope and to discuss the possible environmental impacts of the project.

Applicant speaks

Stefan Martinovic, one of three partners involved with Broadacre/Livingston Farm, gave an overview of the project, which they see as being “an incredibly vibrant part of the community that respects the ecology of the land.” 

Martinovic mentioned community concerns about stormwater management and how they’ve tried to address them “head on,” bringing together a variety of different systems –– engineered, technological and agricultural –– to mitigate and improve conditions.

“This property [has] been sitting there fallow for 50-plus years, as far as I can tell,” he said. “Decades of cattle grazing on compacted soils that are rich in clay, with unkempt springs has led to ponding and a lot of other issues which have led to neighbors, basements and other things being adversely impacted.” 

While the property is 117 acres, Martinovic said they are only planning to develop a small portion of it (around 30 percent).

He noted that they’ve planted about 1500 native trees on the property to accelerate the reforestation process, rather than using heavy tillage, equipment, etc. 

“Those will basically generate timber that sequesters carbon and ultimately grows deep roots into the soil to penetrate some of the perched water table in the clay in order to provide much better drainage and alleviate some of the runoff conditions over time,” added Martinovic.

Part of the property will feature vegetable and produce production which visitors may eat at the restaurant on the property. Martinovic said they also plan on working with several different nonprofits that promote availability to healthy foods, who would have a small subset of plots for their dedicated use.

The barn on the property, which has been around since the 1800s, would be turned into a community hub with a full service restaurant and a lounge workspace/flexible area that could host a variety of different programming on the property.

As for lodging associated with the agritourism component of the project, Martinovic said there would be 62 rooms (a variety in types) throughout the property.

The property would also feature a four-to-five mile integrated trail network with access to woodlands and fields, with the goal of keeping visitors/residents on foot and minimizing the use of cars on and around the property. 

Referencing the close proximity to the hamlet’s Main Street, Martinovic said visitors would be able to take a walk or shared car ride down, where they could patronize local businesses. 

Public raises concerns

A number of attendees spoke during the public comment period of the hearing, raising concerns on a variety of things relating to the project including: The close proximity of certain parts of the trail system to private land/people’s homes; Use of Hoag Road (which is very narrow) for anything other than emergency access; If the Town could support the added sewage from the proposed project; Effects on local wildlife such as eagles which nest on the property; Where stormwater runoff will go; and the possible creation of a new road off of Creamery Road, the mechanism for which it would be created (such as blasting) and the effects that could have on the neighboring homes and hillside.

Patrick Hines of MHE Engineering, working on behalf of the Planning Board, said the possible road off Creamery was one of the aspects of the project that led to the positive SEQRA declaration.

Furthermore, Planning Board Chair Jennifer Grossman added that the “nature of preparing access” to the property was one of their priority focus areas to be addressed in the DEIS.

Wes Gillingham, Associate Director of Catskill Mountainkeeper, in addressing stormwater runoff on a slope, encouraged that the soil be tested and that the board looks at saturation rates, in addition to looking at the depth to bedrock.

“As soon as that [the soil] hits saturation, then all the water is running off,” said Gillingham, “versus if you have a really sandy hillside [where] it’s actually absorbing a lot of water during an extreme event.”

In addressing road creation and blasting, Gillingham also mentioned the possible effect it may have on neighboring wells and the potential for turbidity. 

Iris Fen Gillingham, who like several commenters questioned the number of changes made to the project since it was initially proposed, also warned about the potential of “green washing.”

She explained that green washing, also known as “green sheen,” is a form of advertising or marketing spin in which green PR and green marketing are “deceptively used” to persuade the public that an organization’s products, aims or policies are environmentally friendly.

“The fact that they’re turning their barn into the restaurant and lounge area signifies to me a little bit of questioning around the farm, and I have a lot of respect for the farmers that they are hiring and the consultants that they are working with,” she added. “… And personally, I don’t see high income housing with a green sheen [as] something that will benefit our community, especially if there is any flooding possibility. Many of us in this room probably would agree with that, to some extent, especially those living very close to the development.”

What’s next?

The Draft Scoping Document, as well as other items detailing the project are available at Town offices on Main Street in Livingston Manor, as well as on the Planning Board section of the Town’s website.

Members of the public may continue to submit comments on the project up until March 17. Then, by April 1, the Planning Board will finalize the scope and it will go back to the applicant to address the items raised in their DEIS.

Once the Planning Board gets the DEIS back, and feels it’s complete, another public hearing will be held. After that, the board will evaluate the DEIS, including the public’s comments, and the process will move on to a final environmental impact statement on the project.