ZBA continues Glasco Turnpike subdivision hearing after county and environmental concerns

The Woodstock Zoning Board of Appeals on June 11 continued a public hearing on an application by Aaron Yasen (Bless the Rouge LLC) to subdivide a 5.19-acre parcel on Glasco Turnpike into a 3.0-acre lot and a 2.19-acre lot, after county and local environmental reviewers raised road‑safety and ecological concerns.

A board member reading the county submission said the Elser County Planning Board noted that “this section of Glasco Turnpike has limited sight distance, features steep slopes on the north side of the road and a road geometry that has a history of accidents due to high‑speed driving,” and reminded the panel that access from the county route would require approval from the county Highway and Bridges department if the variance were granted.

The Woodstock Environmental Commission, which conducted a site visit at the board’s request, provided an advisory report that identified multiple site constraints. The commission reported narrow buildable areas because of a rock face and steep slopes near the road, a vernal pond roughly 15–20 feet in diameter that would trigger a 50‑foot setback, mapped wetlands near the property boundary, and evidence of shallow, exposed bedrock. The commission said those conditions could compress the area available for septic systems and house footprints and increase the area of tree removal needed for raised septic designs.

Neighbors at the hearing described concerns about driveway location and buffering, saying drawings appeared to place an access road within setback or buffer areas adjacent to existing homes. Several residents reported local well problems, with anecdotal accounts of wells going dry near new construction; the board asked anyone with documented well failures to submit written evidence (dates and duration) for the record.

Board members told the public that some issues—driveway geometry, curb cuts and required turning radii—are reviewed by the planning and building departments and the county highway agency and that further approvals would be required if the ZBA grants a variance. The board also said the DEC and the Woodstock Planning Board will be asked for input on wetland and protected‑species questions.

Because those agency reports and planning‑board comments were outstanding, the ZBA voted to recess the hearing and call it again after the additional reviews are received. The board invited participants to submit new, non‑repetitive comments in writing and encouraged members of the public to attend the planning board meeting where the planning board will give its advisory opinion.

Next steps: the hearing remains open but recessed pending the county highway, DEC and Woodstock Planning Board reports; the ZBA will reconvene the public hearing at a later date to consider evidence from those reviews and any new information submitted by neighbors or applicants.