Residents and conservation group urge protection of Winston Farm’s western woods as rezoning is sought

Susan Murphy, speaking for Citizens for Beautiful Saugerties, told the town board on March 18 that the owners’ draft generic environmental impact statement (DGEIS) and supporting studies show the western portion of Winston Farm contains critical natural resources that should not be rezoned without a precise master plan.

Murphy summarized consultant findings in the applicants’ DGEIS and accompanying reports, saying a test well on the property pumped 220 gallons per minute and met New York State drinking-water standards. She said the DGEIS indicates roughly 500 acres of the western site are heavily wooded and that mapped recharge areas overlap with those wooded slopes. “To a large degree, these are the same areas that constitute the wooded slopes,” Murphy said, urging the board to recognize the link between the forested ridge and groundwater recharge.

Why it matters: presenters told the board the wooded slopes serve multiple public functions beyond groundwater recharge — carbon sequestration, wetlands that provide flood attenuation and nutrient removal, and habitat for many species identified in a multi-season survey. North Country Ecological Services’ fieldwork was summarized as confirming 177 species of plants and 132 species of animals on the site, including species the presenters said are endangered or of special concern in New York State.

The presenters also flagged what they described as gaps in the applicants’ environmental review. Murphy and others said the DGEIS does not quantify how many trees would be removed, does not calculate the reduction in carbon sequestration if development proceeds, and does not present clear estimates of how building in mapped recharge areas would affect groundwater yields.

The presentation described the applicants’ preferred land-use alternative as including 78 estate lots (about seven acres each), roughly 76 single-family houses and about 100 vacation cottages in the eastern edge of the site. Presenters overlaid the applicant’s preferred plan with the wetlands map and said the two were “completely incompatible,” quoting the applicant’s own text acknowledging that “future development within the Winston Farm PD may result in the conversion of portions of currently undeveloped land” and a reduction of rural character.

“We all deserve to know what they intend to build on this land,” Murphy told the board, arguing the town should not grant a PDD until a master plan — not just a rezoning — provides clear, reviewable details. She added that the owners invested “over $4 million” in purchasing the land and that local reporting had discussed interest from conservation buyers; presenters urged the town to pursue conservation options if possible.

Board response and process notes: a board speaker and other officials acknowledged that environmental constraints have been identified in consultants’ work and that “open space is at the table” in ongoing talks between owners, conservation interests and town representatives. The board indicated it expects further materials and that additional public review will follow; no formal rezoning decision or vote on the Winston Farm PDD was conducted at the March 18 meeting.

What’s next: residents asked the town to require a detailed master plan before any rezoning decision and to explore conservation purchases or other protections for the mapped recharge areas and wetlands. The board said it expects more data and public discussion as the SEQR (State Environmental Quality Review) process continues.

Quoted evidence and attributions in this article come from speakers at the March 18 Saugerties Town Board meeting, including Susan Murphy (Citizens for Beautiful Saugerties), Mark (presenter on construction impacts) and Lanny Walter (former Winston Farm Alliance chairman). The town did not take formal action on rezoning at this meeting; the issue remains under review.