A common, recurring refrain from the project’s developer and supporters goes something like this, from a 2008 Times Herald-Record article: “The earth movers and jackhammers are on standby.” After much controversy and changes to the project, Tuxedo Reserve is still on standby. If ever built, the Reserve would be the largest residential housing development in Orange County, with 1,195 multi-units on more than 2,335 acres west of Route 17, between Tuxedo Park and Sloatsburg, on sensitive watershed that abuts state parkland. When completed, the project would be as large as Sloatsburg, housing roughly 3,000 people.
Issues with the project are as complex and varied as the many changes the developer, the Related Companies, has submitted, which involve everything from increased multi-unit housing density to a private school, construction of a mall, and changes in storm water and drainage proposals. This past week, the Sloatsburg Planning Board gave its final, unanimous approval to accept Tuxedo Reserve’s updated drainage plan for the proposed Quail Road private entrance/exit to the development. There was no additional environmental impact review requested by the village, nor were any public comments allowed. The vote presumably ends any Sloatsburg oversight authority over the project.
The latest Tuxedo Reserve drainage plan involves 40-acres, located in Sloatsburg on Rt. 17 near Jessie’s Bagels, directly across the street from the Ramapo River, in a known flood zone. The Reserve storm water plan calls for construction of 5 storm water retention basins adjacent to the private road entrance, as well as a culvert under Rt. 17. Another portion of the plan shows a 54-inch storm water drain pipe that runs along the property then dead ends on the plan’s site map. The Tuxedo Reserve proposal approved by the Sloatsburg Planning Board still awaits review and approval from both the NY Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Transportation.
Sloatsburg has Involved Agency status with the project, which gives the village certain SEQRA (State Environmental Quality Review) statutory authority regarding the environmental impacts of the activity it is authorizing. Sloatsburg last held an open meeting on Tuxedo Reserve’s Quail Road Application back in 2005, when it voted to give the Reserve its own private road entry located in Sloatsburg. That application was approved by the Sloatsburg Planning Board, with provisions to revisit the proposal should changes to the plan occur. In normal circumstances, once an application is approved, that application it is acted upon in a timely manner — meaning construction starts.
Among the many questions related to Tuxedo Reserve is how the development benefits Sloatsburg. The bulk of the project is slated to be built across the Orange County line and would be under the taxing jurisdiction of both the Town of Tuxedo and Orange County. Sloatsburg would receive no tax revenue from the Reserve yet bear extensive increased traffic from the project, as well as see increased infrastructure costs.
Currently, the Town of Tuxedo is defending itself in a lawsuit filed by the Tuxedo Land Trust and the Torne Valley Preservation Association, as well as Thomas Wilson,Trustee of Tuxedo Park, and several other concerned citizens, regarding proposed changes to Tuxedo Reserve by the development company, the Related Companies. The bone of contention is how the Tuxedo Town Board has handled its review of Tuxedo Reserve’s application for an Amendment to the Special Permit of 2004, which was granted to Tuxedo Reserve after years of negotiation by previous Town of Tuxedo administrations. The suit challenges the Town Board’s compliance with SEQRA, as well as other required impact statements regarding the development. The suit also focuses on how the Town Board issued an Amended Special Permit and approved an Amended Preliminary Plan and other zoning law amendments for the project. The suit contends that in the course of filing for project plan amendments, the entire nature of Tuxedo Reserve is different than what was originally approved in 2004.
Note: the above map shows the current proposed boundaries of Tuxedo Reserve.
Sources: tpfyi.com, tuxedolandtrust.org and tuxedoreserve.com
