LOCH SHELDRAKE — The Luxor Jr. Estates project was once again the subject of a public hearing at the Fallsburg Planning Board on August 12. The project is seeking a site plan approval for 100 unit condominiums.
This 42-acre development is adjacent to an already existing Luxor Estates development near Loch Sheldrake.

The development is also seeking to build a community building and swimming pools, among other things. The project has remained dormant for the past three years, according to the Fallsburg Building Department.The project has been in development since 2007 and was last seen in front of the Fallsburg Planning Board in 2018, according to a memo submitted by Delaware Engineering Senior Planner Helen Budrock.

Many residents attended the in-person planning board meeting, and many more watched virtually via Zoom.
Those who spoke during the public hearing, either in-person or on Zoom, spoke passionately of their concerns of over-development on the site, stormwater runoff into the loch, and increased traffic around the community.
The increased traffic is a concern due to the number of families living at the development with the 100 units proposed. The last traffic study was done, according to Fallsburg Building Department was in 2008.

A community activist group named Fallsburg Future was asking the planning board to consider reducing the number of homes that are projected to be part of the property, stating that property values could be “adversely affected otherwise.”

When the development was first proposed in the late 2000s, there were 114 homes in the original plans. Over  the years the project’s scope has been reduced.

Regarding the stormwater runoff, members of Fallsburg Future asked, “Are there environmental guidelines that can protect the lake from these issues?”

Budrock has suggested to the planning board that another Environmental Review should be done since there have been so many starts and stops throughout the project’s history.

Moreover, the project proposes to tap into the Town of Thompson’s water and sewer system with an extension to the site. This extension would also entail repair to the existing roads.

Furthermore, part of the 2006 wetlands delineation report and the 2008 traffic study were also recommended to be part of the new study.

The planning board took no action and left the public hearing open for public comment to be submitted.