Planning board reopens Blue Real Estates DEIS hearing after notice timing error; public comments recorded, hearing continued to Feb. 27

The Airmont Planning Board opened a public hearing on the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for the proposed Blue Real Estates senior housing project — a plan for 105 senior units on an approximately 18-acre Saddle River Road site — on Jan. 23, 2025.

During the hearing the board and applicant’s counsel identified a notice-timing issue: the required 14-day notice for the public hearing in the newspaper (the Journal-News) did not elapse between publication and the hearing. The environmental notice published in the state Environmental Notice Bulletin had been posted earlier, but the village’s local newspaper publication (the trigger for the 14-day clock under SEQRA rules) appeared on Jan. 14, which did not satisfy the 14-day notice requirement for a Jan. 23 public hearing. To preserve the record the board accepted oral comments from attendees but determined it would repeat the public hearing with proper notice.

The applicant provided a brief overview of the DEIS and its scope, including topics such as geology and soils, stormwater and water-resources mitigation, biological resources, traffic and transportation impacts and proposed mitigation measures (a sidewalk along the project frontage, dust control and stormwater treatment consistent with NYSDEC standards, and landscaping/screening). The DEIS addressed construction-phase impacts, proposed erosion and sediment controls, stormwater design to meet DEC SPDES requirements and proposed noise and air-quality controls for construction.

Public comments were recorded and included traffic/transportation concerns and questions about impacts to natural resources. The board directed staff to re-publish the notice with a 14-day lead and scheduled the continued public hearing for Feb. 27, 2025. Written comments on the DEIS will be accepted for a period after the continued hearing consistent with SEQRA requirements.