Park Ventures site plan for 140–160 Boulevard draws county and neighborhood concerns about water, stormwater and documentation

The City of Kingston Planning Board on April 21 heard public comment and developer response on a proposed subdivision and site plan for 140–160 Boulevard from Park Ventures Corporation. Public commenters and the Planning Board focused on utilities and stormwater: residents and the county letter said formal water-pressure and stormwater documentation had not been available to reviewers, and the Conservation Advisory Council urged on-site infiltration rather than piping runoff to the sewer system.

Why it matters: The site sits in a neighborhood that public commenters and staff described as already subject to flooding, repeated basement inundation and aging sewer infrastructure. Reviewers said the project could increase runoff into an area that lacks robust storm drains and ties into old sewer lines.

Public commenter Elaine Savicki told the board the city’s water department communication dated April 10 did not appear in the county packet and that the Ulster County Planning Board’s only advisory recommendation (to plant additional trees in front of two buildings) had not addressed broader water and access issues. Savicki referenced Kingston zoning code Section 405.26.e and said required submissions for site-plan review were missing from materials the public and county used for review; she asked the board to delay any votes until the missing documentation was supplied.

Park Ventures representatives said they had updated plan sets since the last meeting and submitted additional materials to the county, including drainage, lighting, landscaping, basic utility layouts and a preliminary stormwater management approach; they also said they had uploaded a water-department communication and that meetings with city engineering and public utilities staff were scheduled to address detailed questions. The developer’s engineer explained the site’s topography funnels runoff to a low point and described a plan to capture runoff in underground chambers beneath parking areas, detain it and slowly release it to the existing outfall so that post‑development flows would match or improve pre‑development conditions. The engineer cautioned that the project cannot “fix” all upstream drainage problems in the neighborhood but said the design aimed not to worsen runoff patterns.

City staff told the board an internal review meeting with public utilities and engineering staff was scheduled for the week following the meeting to address outstanding questions (water pressure, sewer connections and stormwater treatment); the board and staff agreed to keep the public hearing open for additional submissions. Park Ventures asked the board not to issue final action and to allow the county review to proceed in parallel while the developer responds to the city’s technical comments.

The planning board tabled the items and kept the public hearing open; the applicant will return with revised documents after the city’s engineering and utilities review.