Planning Board approves Stone Valley farm entrance; requires county highway permit and four conditions

The Rhinebeck Planning Board voted to approve a site plan and special use permit for Stone Valley New York LLC to construct a farm entrance on the southerly parcel of its Stone Valley property, with conditions including formal Dutchess County Department of Public Works (DPW) highway-access approval.

The board’s action affirmed that the proposal is a Type II action under SEQRA and that coordinated environmental review is not required based on the materials submitted. The approval resolution authorizes the chair to sign the site plan subject to four conditions and reiterates that applicant must secure DPW highway-access approval before construction.

The application covers a parcel that straddles the Rhinebeck–Red Hook town line. Applicant representative Mark Laminski told the board the access point selected has received preliminary concurrence from DPW staff in concept, but DPW requires a formal permit application before issuing final approval. Laminski said he had also consulted conservation reviewers and submitted the conservation easement map showing that the easement includes language permitting a farm access at the location proposed.

Board members and the applicant discussed the driveway layout, sightlines, existing stone walls and fencing that will be modified, and measures to allow farm equipment to enter and exit safely without disrupting traffic on New York State Route 199 or River Road (a county highway at the project location). The plan calls for reuse of removed stone wall material for new entrance pillars and use of post-and-wire farm fencing; about 50 feet of an existing stone wall would be removed and portions reused for the new radii.

Members asked for clarity about the nature and extent of new farm road construction on the southerly parcel. Laminski explained the first ~450 feet would use existing grassed road bed with minimal disturbance, then roughly 570 feet of new farm-road construction would be required, involving minor brush clearing and a small number of larger-tree removals in a short section. He said the work was designed to minimize grading and tree loss and to preserve scenic character where possible.

The board’s approval includes a condition that full DPW highway-access approval be provided; the resolution also requires that plans submitted to Rhinebeck’s building department match the materials approved by the planning board. The action notes that, per the conservation easement and discussions with conservation reviewers, Scenic Hudson (and related reviewers) reviewed the access and provided commentary that the applicant addressed in the plan set.

Board members stressed preservation of scenic stone-wall character at the roadside and asked the applicant to coordinate on gate and pillar details to maintain the road’s existing aesthetic. The board also acknowledged that the site contains agricultural assessments and that farming operations will continue on both sides of River Road.

The approval follows the Zoning Board of Appeals’ prior grant of an area variance for another item related to the property; tonight’s approvals were limited to the entrance and associated site-plan and special-use permit matters.

The chair authorized the planning-board secretary to provide the approval resolution and next steps to the applicant; the board recorded the vote as carried after a motion, second and voice vote in favor.