Planning Board approves amended site plan delaying county operations permit requirement for farmworker housing

The Town of Goshen Planning Board approved a second amended resolution of conditional approval for an amended site plan and special permit for farmworker housing on about 43.2 acres on Cedar Swamp Road, modifying the project’s sequencing to require the Orange County operations permit before a certificate of completion for certain building work.

John Furst, attorney with Mann & Ryder, spoke for the applicant and described the requested change as a reordering of the project’s conditions: because the applicant has not closed on the parcel and cannot practically install the proposed water-supply system before ownership transfer, the board agreed to a condition that ties issuance of certain building approvals to receipt of the Orange County Department of Health operations permit for migrant farmworker housing. Furst told the board that Orange County will not issue the operations permit until the proposed water-supply system is installed and inspected and that the applicant would not permit occupancy until the county operations permit is issued.

Board members engaged in extended discussion about whether the project qualified as "migrant farmworker housing" when the record indicated rent would be charged; several members expressed concern that charging rent could place the housing outside the strict state definitions the board heard about. One resident and board members argued that "migrant housing" traditionally refers to employer-provided free housing; the applicant’s counsel and board counsel said compliance with town code and the county health operations-permit process were the appropriate compliance measures and enforcement issues for other agencies if there were alleged violations. The board noted that it had previously debated the issue in earlier approvals and that the town code includes specific provisions for farmworker housing.

The board also confirmed that the second-amended resolution would incorporate the prior amended resolution (Exhibit A) so that existing conditions remain and the new sequencing replaces the previous specific condition 5(b) with the revised condition requiring that prior to certain building inspections and a certificate of completion for the electrical work tied to the water-supply system, the applicant must furnish an operations permit from the Orange County Department of Health to the town building department. The amended condition also requires the applicant to provide a copy of the county operations permit and annual county correspondence, including inspection reports and violations, to the town building department.

At the conclusion of discussion a motion to approve the second amended resolution of conditional approval, special permit and major site plan for Joel Feder (also referenced in the record as “All in Audio”) carried on the record. The board’s approval noted that the applicant must provide the operations permit to the town building department as a condition for occupancy-related approvals.