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Red Hook residents press town board to halt zoning changes tied to disputed boat-club acquisition
Summary
Hundreds of residents criticized proposed zoning changes and the town—oard t a Nov. 19 hearing, urging the board to stop actions they say enable acquisition of the Red Hook Boat Club; the board extended public hearings and reiterated it will not use CPF funds to buy property from unwilling sellers.
Dozens of Red Hook residents packed the town hall on Nov. 19 to oppose proposed zoning amendments and a related town effort involving the Red Hook Boat Club, saying the board—ailed to provide searchable, timely documents and has spent large sums on legal work.
The meeting opened with notices for three public hearings. Commenters focused on local law A (an amendment to the Community Preservation Fund plan) and on local laws B and C, which together resubmit aspects of a previous law that a court annulled earlier this year. Robert Singleton, who identified himself as speaking for the planning board dvisory committee, read the planning board etermination that the proposed action is “inconsistent with the LWRP.” He urged the town to drop measures he said would facilitate acquisition of the boat club and to stop spending taxpayer money on litigation.
Public commenters cited transparency and process problems. Shelly Day told the board: “Many of us have experienced how difficult it is to get clear and concise information from the town board,” and several speakers said the full text of the proposed laws was hard to find online. Bob Ross told the board the proposal risked allowing CPF money to be used after an eminent-domain acquisition and said, “We cannot trust you or your motives.” Roxanne Fisher, who spoke against Local Law C, said the site proposed for the public park posed public-safety and access problems and urged the board to vote no on that measure.
The board responded repeatedly that CPF (Community Preservation Fund) monies are limited by state enabling law and town code and that they cannot be used to pay down debt associated with property acquired from unwilling sellers. The supervisor said explicitly, “We cannot use CPF funds to pay down debt associated with an acquisition that is not from willing sellers.” The board also said it had referred the draft laws for review, prepared SEQRA materials, and would continue public hearings to gather input.
Action and next steps: the board extended the Winnecke Land Trust Camp Rising Sun public hearing to Feb. 10, 2026 to allow an updated appraisal and set a continuation of the Local Laws B and C hearing for Dec. 9, 2025 at 7:35 p.m., making the two hearings concurrent. Several speakers urged the board to rescind prior votes authorizing eminent-domain proceedings; the board did not rescind them at the meeting and moved instead to continue hearings and review planning-board recommendations.
The meeting also included votes on separate agenda items (see related articles on the Community Preservation Plan amendment and bridge/resolution actions). The public comments session was notable for its size, repeated calls for searchable documents, and for the planning board nd waterfront-advisory findings read into the record.
