BETHEL — The members of the Sustainable Bethel Committee were re-appointed at the Bethel Town Board meeting Wednesday, January 22, and Jeffrey Allison was re-appointed as Chairperson. Moreen Lerner was appointed Climate Smart Community Co-ordinator for 2025 to assist in the co-ordination of initiatives and to serve as the interface between the committee, the Town Supervisor and Town personnel.

The Committee has enabled the town to achieve Bronze Certification as a Climate Smart Community in 2018 (re-certified in 2024), which placed it as 20th such municipality in New York State. The Committee serves as a task force, facilitates the Town’s Climate Smart Community Pledge, and acts as an advisor to town officials with respect to climate action, energy conservation, and sustainability initiatives per the Climate Smart Community Certification Program. 

Bronze Certification has enabled the Town to receive a grant of $150,000 which was used to contribute to the cost of electric lawn equipment and the new highway garage climate smart heating equipment.

The following persons were re-appointed to serve on the committee in 2025: Jeffrey Allison, MBA; Michael Chojnicki, R.A., Architect; Moreen Lerner, Manager of the BLDC; Vicky Simpson, Retired Councilmember; Town Supervisor Daniel Sturm; Jennifer Young, Owner of Fairytale Farm; Roger Broom, Architect; Councilmembers Wendy Brown and Lillian Hendrickson (Alternate); and Seth Levine of Black Lake Estates.

Public comments invited on proposed 

Swan Lake nest

A proposed 189-unit development at 186 Lee Cole Road in the northeast corner of Bethel has caused the Bethel Planning Board to issue a positive declaration due to adverse environmental impacts it will potentially cause. The positive declaration, which necessitates a Draft Environmental Impact Statement, or DEIS, to be issued, is a rare occurrence, used only in a few cases in the past (such as in the planning for the construction of Bethel Woods and in a re-zoning issue). 

The development on 49.54 acres will replace a 10-unit bungalow colony that included a pool, laundry facility, and social hall. The plan “consists of 13 three-family buildings, 7 eight-family buildings, 8 ten-family buildings, 1 two-story community building, 1 shul, 2 swimming pools, recreational areas, 2 pavilions, and a maintenance building.” 

It will have a wastewater treatment plant, on-site wells, a water treatment system, three driveways, and will require Site Plan and Special Use Permit approvals.

A Planning Board Scoping Session will meet Monday, February 3 at 7:00 p.m. at the Duggan School in White Lake to consider comments on the Draft Scope for the environmental review of the proposed development. All verbal and written comments will be considered, and interested and involved agencies, as well as the public, are invited to attend. 

Comments will be evaluated for the DEIS and may be submitted by mail, email, or hand delivered to Christy Flynn, Clerk, Town of Bethel Planning Board, P.O.Box 300, 3454 State Rte 55, White Lake, NY 12786;  phone: (845)583-4350 ext. 105; email: bethelcodeclerk@gmail.com. The deadline is 1 p.m. on 2/14/2025.

Any potentially significant adverse impacts?

The project will require conversion of 10 acres of forested land, affecting wildlife habitats and trees; it may disturb 38 acres by grading and construction within a depth of a margin of 3 feet from the water table; it is located in a low density development area, requiring expanded public infrastructure such as the establishment of water and sewer corporations; an increase in traffic and associated noise on a road in poor structural condition; it will create stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces requiring a Stormwater Pollution Plan; the generation of 101,00 gallons/day of sanitary wastewater, potentially affecting nearby waterbodies. (The site is within a NYS Major Basin Are, the Upper Delaware, and contains federal wetlands.) 

It will require a new demand for water, as usage will be 101,000 gallons/day, whereas the on-site wells and demand may exceed the sustainable withdrawal capacity rate of the local supply or aquifer; and possible incompatibility with the 2006 Comprehensive Plan.

It will require increased energy transmission where the current electricity supply is limited; there is a fiscal stress factor, where a cost to benefit analysis must be performed regarding potential income generated by increased population versus the dependence upon government services such as schools, fire, ambulances and police; and there may be an effect on climate change due to soil erosion during construction and the potential for sea-level rise.

All documents related to the Swan Lake Nest, Inc development, including the Draft Scope, can be found at the Planning Board Department home page on the Town’s website: https://townofbethelny.us/. 

A Final Scope as approved by the Planning Board will be developed after comments are evaluated and will become the outline for the DEIS. A formal public hearing will be held upon acceptance of a complete DEIS.