Planning board conditionally approves Strack Road lot, sets erosion and culvert conditions

The Goshen Town Planning Board on Aug. 9 granted conditional approval for a major site plan to build a single‑family house on a 1‑acre lot on Strack Road (Tax Lot Section 14, Block 7, Lot 3), subject to multiple conditions aimed at protecting the reservoir watershed and downstream drainage.

Consultant Laura Kresge told the board the proposed three‑bedroom dwelling would be served by a private well at the front and an individual sewage disposal system in the rear that requires access over an unimproved paper street (Titus Road). Kresge said the septic shown is separated from surrounding wells by “greater than 200 feet.” The property lies inside the Q3 stream corridor and reservoir watershed overlay, which triggered planning‑board review.

Several neighbors raised concerns during the public hearing about a mapped drainage swale that crosses neighboring lots and ultimately outlets to the town reservoir. One resident requested that the board not approve the plan “until and unless that question number 17 can be answered with a no,” referring to the Short Environmental Assessment Form question about whether stormwater would discharge to adjacent properties. The applicant and staff said the project will continue existing drainage patterns and that erosion and sediment control plans are required by code for development in the overlay district.

Town staff and board members discussed access via Titus Road (a paper road) and the town’s lack of maintenance responsibility for that stretch. The board required the applicant to verify the capacity of an downstream driveway culvert and an on‑site 18‑inch pipe, to the satisfaction of the town engineer, so that increased runoff from the driveway and roof will not cause off‑site flooding. The board also required fencing at the limits of clearing and disturbance, compliance with the town engineer’s 07/11/2025 memorandum, a properly executed owner’s endorsement, and that the applicant install magnetic underground utility marking tape to identify the location of the buried sewage line within the Titus Road right‑of‑way.

The resolution clarifies that the planning board’s approval does not validate encroachments from adjacent lots onto the subject parcel nor create a separate parcel on the far side of Titus Road; the approval addresses only the current project. The board voted to approve the conditional resolution as modified during the meeting.