Like all communities faced with new development, residents of Cragsmoor want to know what Dharmakaya plans to put in their back yards. Last week they converged on the Wawarsing Town Hall to ask their questions and express their concerns at a Public Hearing before the town planning board.

Dharmakaya, a Buddhist religious organization, has proposed putting a retreat center on 91 acres of land they purchased several years ago. Project architect Phil Cerniglia presented a detailed drawing of how the center's 17 buildings—which total 78,000 square feet of space—would be placed on the site, and told residents that "extensive landscaping" would buffer the compound from neighboring properties.

The project was first presented to Cragsmoor residents two years ago, and residents questioned the amount of traffic the center would generate, its impact on the local economy, since it would remove the property from the tax rolls, and the burden it would place on taxpayer-supported services.

Also of concern was the damage to flora and fauna habitats, the loss of the pastoral quality the hamlet now enjoys, and since the project is low on the south slope of the community, the possibility that a major drain on the aquifer could deprive some residents of water.

Since then, project engineers from BFJ Planning have completed a Draft Environmental Impact Study, (DEIS), which they presented at the Thursday hearing, and the Cragsmoor Association has hired counsel to do its own research on potential impact.

David Gordon, an environmental lawyer hired by the association, described many of the statements in the DEIS as "deficient" and "worthless," with too little information. He also said that while RC 3A zoning allows "a house of worship," the large buildings and the sprawling complex did not fit that definition.

Environmental ecologist Spider Barbour agreed there was not enough information about plant and animal species in the statement, possibly because the studies weren't done during the peak growing season, when many more could have been recorded.

It was most alarming, though, when hydrologist Katherine Beinkafner told residents that the test wells demonstrated very slow recovery, even though tests were done during a period of extremely high rainfall. She said that was "significant," and "given time, this well has the capacity of drawing a lot of water out of the aquifer. There is just not sufficient water there."

Maureen Radl, vice president of the Cragsmoor Historical Society and Friends of Shawangunks, asked the planning board to "work closely [with project developers] to find ways to mitigate the impact on the area," and suggested four points as guidelines:

1. Reduce the overall size 40 to 50%.
2. Avoid disrupting the view.
3. Designate money in lieu of taxes to support the local fire company.
4. Insist on conservation easements on land not used for buildings.

After hearing the Cragsmoor Association's consultants attack the DEIS, Phil Sigunick summed up the feelings of many in the audience when he said Dharmakaya has acted "in bad faith," and misrepresented the project to Cragsmoor residents.

The overwhelming concern of most residents was the size of the planned compound, and the potential for further expansion. Association president Jim McKenney urged everyone to submit written comments to the board before the December 26 deadline.

"This huge facility would vastly overwhelm our community," said McKenney. "It's just too big, and not in keeping with the residential nature of our hamlet."

COMMENTS about this article (0 )