WHITE LAKE – The Town of Bethel Planning Board held the continuation of their public hearing on the proposed purchase and renovation of the White Lake landmark, the White Lake Mansion House, on MOnday night at the former Duggan School. A room full of residents brought forth questions, concerns, and criticism regarding the proposal.

Attorney Jacob Billig, who is representing the applicant on behalf of the law office of Billig, Loughlin & Silver, LLP, returned to address some of the issues previously brought up at the first public hearing.

The project was introduced before the Planning Board back in 2013, however the project never took shape and was seemingly abandoned. Now, a developer is seeking to begin the project again with a new application.

The current layout for the blueprint design for phase one would see the mansion house be renovated and two buildings be erected to be three stories tall, estimated to each be around 52 to 62 feet high. These buildings would have 72 total units available for lodging. 

Billig gave a comprehensive overview of the present plan before the Planning Board and a crowd of residents. He touched on what economic development the hotel would bring to the hamlet, with intent to work alongside the Sullivan County IDA and Partnership for Economic Development. Billig said that the hotel would fall under the zoning of H-17B Hamlet/Commercial, as there have been no changes to the zoning code since 2013.

Continuing on, Billig stated that the project is following through with brand new applications and State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) Forms. However, the data on water treatment, sewer usage, and many other facets of the project was collected in 2012. 

Billig said that the project is “not going to rely on the 2012 data in its entirety” moving forward.

This data also included a traffic study conducted in 2012. Billig stated that the data was collected using traffic generated from concert-goers at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, which sits just off of State Route 17B in Bethel, and various other businesses. Billig went on to say the engineer responsible for updating the information will look at how traffic might have changed over the past decade and address it.

Confirmed updates from the original 2013 project plans include:

• Using native species of shrubs and other plants in place of the originally planned vegetation that included invasive species

• A redesign of the vehicle entrance and exit now facing a different direction with an ingress and egress, rather than being a two lane design.

• Addressing the Sullivan County Department of Public Works’ various suggestions, including adding two EV chargers on-site, making walkability being a priority, and adding a service gate for EMS and fire services.

A Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) is also to be completed, according to Billig. Project leads also plan to meet with local first responders to hash out what would be required in the plans, which may include special access for EMS on-site.

Billig concluded by stating that the sewer system’s capacity for the project was approved by the Town Engineer, confirming it would not overreach the flow capacity. According to Billig, the project would increase the sewer flow by only two percent.

Residents put up resistance

Opening the public comment that saw over 20 members of the community stand to speak in criticism of the project was Tom Hendrickson, 80, of White Lake. He said the project was simply not good for the hamlet and that he is cautious of the negative impacts it may have on the generations who follow him.

One resident called the application “the Super Bowl of projects for White Lake,” and pleaded for the Planning Board to address it as such a monumental responsibility.

Other members of the crowd that consisted of residents of White Lake claimed that the data that was collected over a decade ago is unfitting to use and does not currently reflect the hamlet’s vitals today. To this, Billig responded that the project leads are planning to hire water treatment professionals and engineers to update the information. 

Specifically, Billig named the engineer hire-to-be as Gordon T. Stansbury of GTS Consulting, and Robert T. Miller of Pine Bush who is to test the quality of the existing water wells.

Traffic was also a major concern for many. One commenter, a volunteer firefighter who claimed he already finds difficulty in using Rt. 17B in the summer while responding to emergencies due to increased traffic, stated his worry of this project making that even more difficult.

Others stated their doubt that this was to be a ‘hotel’ but rather function as seasonal semi-permanent housing.

Barbara Lerner, a resident of White Lake, spoke up on a point of linguistics utilized by the project and noted that the wording of the application presented before the Board used the word ‘residence’, thus potentially causing an oversight of their projected water use predictions by over 240 percent.

Smallwood resident Jonathan Hyman stated that “no one really knows what the project is,” and that it depicts there being created over 72 “multi-family housing units.”

The namesake of the hamlet, White Lake, was also a focal point for residents. Concerns of possible run-off, erosion, water usage, sewer flow, and other potential environmental impacts were shared in the interest of protecting and maintaining the lake and the overall Mongaup River HUC12 Watershed in which it sits.

Board closes public hearing

As the public comment came to a close, members of the crowd called on the board to deny the application and close the public hearing.

Chair of the Planning Board Jim Crowley said that it is “all a little convoluted.” Other board members gave their thoughts on the application, saying that “it’s a lot to digest.” Another board member said that he wanted “a whole new plan” regarding the project.

After taking no official action on the status of the application, the Planning Board moved to close the public hearing without setting a date for another to follow.