Widewaters: Questions and Answers
The largest commercial development ever proposed for our region is on the verge of slipping through the cracks of a comprehensive planning review typically required under state law.
The 565,000-square-foot retail center, slated for a 130-acre site on Route 9 in Greenport, could double traffic congestion and inflict heavy financial damage on town taxpayers and area businesses, according to many studies on the effects of large retail developments in rural areas. With little public concern raised to date, the Greenport Town Planning Board is nearing the end of its preliminary review of the project with no apparent interest in subjecting it to more thorough questioning, analysis and debate.
Based on initial studies conducted by the site’s would-be developers, Widewaters Group, “the Planning Board thinks there will be a positive impact on the community,” said board attorney Carl Whitbeck.
Land use experts, however, contend that the board should insist on a more lengthy, independent review of “potential adverse impacts” rather than rely solely on the developers’ own studies and estimates.
“It’s backwards for the applicant to say ‘We’ve given you all the material you need,’” said John Lyons of Grant & Lyons, a Rhinebeck-based environmental law firm. “Having an applicant submit the information at the beginning of the review process cuts out public participation.
“It’s up to the planning board,” Mr. Lyons added, “to define and analyze the potential adverse impacts of a project by hiring its own independent consultants, with all costs charged to the developers, as part of the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA).”
In the next six to eight weeks, the planning board expects to finish its initial assessment and hold a public hearing before making its final decision on whether to declare that the Widewaters project should undergo a full-scale SEQRA review. Unless the board is persuaded to extend the review, citizens will lose the chance to learn more about the possible effects that the development may have on their taxes and their economic opportunities in the future.
Among the questions that the board needs to consider before making its decision are:
Tax Impact– The biggest losers from the project, from a fiscal standpoint, may well be Greenport property owners, who already pay the highest per capita taxes in the entire county, largely to finance much-needed improvements in the town’s aging water and sewer systems.
Several studies tracking the fiscal impacts of large-scale commercial development conclude that the cost to municipal taxpayers of providing the additional fire, police, water and highway services far exceed the local tax revenues generated by big-box shopping plazas.
Widewaters states in its submissions to the planning board that the project will have “a positive fiscal impact” as revenues from sales taxes and property taxes will outstrip additional public costs, but they offer no data or supporting evidence for their claim.
Economic Impact— Widewaters officials have refused to identify the tenants or types of retail formats they expect to occupy the site, and they have not submitted to the town any detailed forecasts on sales volumes, customer profiles or employment, except to state that the built-out stores will employ “400 full-time and 400 part-time” workers.
Such a huge increase in retail space, especially if it includes high-volume restaurants and major big-box vendors like Home Depot or Target, tends to cannibalize customers from existing merchants in the area, according to studies we have reviewed of retail developments in New York, Massachusetts, Ohio and Maine.
Existing businesses could well see a substantial loss of revenues, and a corresponding loss of jobs and municipal sales tax payments, unless the growth in selling space is matched by more spending from current residents or by substantial growth in new residents.
Water/Sewer Costs– “The existing system has sufficient capacity” for the proposed development, according to Widewaters, a puzzling claim in light of the fact town is preparing to embark on a $7 million expansion of its sewage treatment plant to ease a current lack of capacity and to plan for future growth. Unless the planning board requires Widewaters to contribute to the cost of the sewage treatment expansion, 12-15% of which would be absorbed by the retail project itself, Greenport taxpayers will likely be subsidizing the developers’ access to sewage and water services.
Traffic Delays– The developers’ study states that the project will have “minimal effects” on traffic delays along the busy Route 9 corridor, despite their consultant’s conclusion that that it would add nearly 1,200 new car trips per hour during weekday peak times to the existing traffic flow of 750 cars. The additional traffic, planning board engineer Paul McCreary suggested, would be sufficiently “mitigated” by the developers’ proposal to install traffic lights and left-turn lanes at the site.
It is our right under the SEQRA law to ask these and other questions, and it is the planning board’s obligation to look for the answers. Contact the planning board office at 828-3152 for dates of upcoming meetings on the Widewaters project.
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3 Responses to “Widewaters: Questions and Answers”
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Kinderhook neighbors for Good Growth fought the 91 acre Widewaters Mall in Kinderhook for over 3 years. A full SEQRA took place. A considerable sector of the surrounding community understood that that mall would put Grand Union out of business (in the porcess of happening, in fact). Our efforts got some mitigation–a 9 acre easement on the back property so mall could not expand beyond the original 3 buildings. Widewaters is cynical and cheap, with well-paid lawyers wearing down town boards. The failure of Greenport to understand the negative implications of this enormous project is simply tragic. The only hope for any smart planning or holding Widewaters feet to the fire is to inspire citizen outrage and involvement so pressure is put on the Town Planning Board to undergo SEQRA. It’s a horrible situation that wil impact alot of the county. And this mall is another example of building the retail in advance of expected residential growth–a formula for unplanned sprawl.
Ally
Jas-
The board should be told lound and clear that if they don’t positive dec this proposal and order a full SEQRA review that they will be sued, the project will be delayed and the developer will be disserved. This message must be delivered to the supervisor/chairman loud and clear, perhaps through his own lawyer, whoever that may be. The Cement Plant group should weigh in on this if they are still around; with their accomplishment, they should be respected if not feared.
Steve Kaye
A balanced approach to the public review of this project is the least anyone can expect. I’m a relative newcomer to the goings-on of Columbia County, but it seems to me that the Greenport Planning Board is ignoring some very important information about both the fiscal and environmental impact of Widewaters on the community. If that’s the case, shame on them.