Planning Board grants conditional final approval for 11‑lot Rockwood Drive subdivision

The Town of Newburgh Planning Board on April 2 granted conditional final approval to the Rockwood Drive subdivision, an 11‑lot project on Rockwood Drive, North Plank Road and Chestnut Lane.

Daniel G. Koehler of Hudson Land Design told the Board the current plan reoriented Lot 11 and its driveway to protect a 60‑inch specimen tree, incorporated the Town's tree preservation law into the plans and updated the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) to meet current DEC standards. Koehler said only a single specimen tree raised restitution concerns and the applicant proposed posting $840 as a precautionary restitution if the protected tree later dies.

Pat Hines of MHE Engineering said the tree preservation submission was conservative, met the code thresholds and that the updated SWPPP is under technical review. Hines reiterated that the project retains a previously issued negative declaration under SEQRA, which exempts it from the recent DEC wetland rule changes until 2028, but added the drainage and legal items remain outstanding.

The Board heard from counsel Dominic Cordisco that conditional final approval would be conditioned on resolving outstanding engineering comments; finalization of the drainage‑district formation; an offer of dedication for the storm‑water parcel to the Town Board (to be accepted after construction); posting security for storm‑water construction; and payment of recreation fees. Cordisco and staff also required draft easements for shared driveways to be submitted for the Planning Board attorney's review.

Members discussed whether to hold a new public hearing, given the project's previous public hearing and negative declaration. After deliberation the Board voted to waive a new public hearing because board members agreed that drainage and architectural issues had been addressed. Later the Board voted on the conditional final approval motion (moved by Ken Mennerich; seconded by Stephanie DeLuca) and recorded unanimous 'Aye' votes.

The Board agreed to defer detailed architectural review for individual home models to the Building Department in many cases. Cordisco noted that building permits would not be issued until the storm‑water infrastructure — including the swale and driveway cuts along Rockwood Road — is constructed as required by condition.

Next steps for the applicant include finalizing the drainage‑district legal work, providing the required securities and easement drafts, and coordinating any remaining revisions with the Planning Board staff and attorney. The Board recorded the motion as carried and closed discussion on the item.