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Applicant seeks roughly 1,000‑sq‑ft garage near Philipstown wetland; board to conduct site visit
Summary
An applicant represented by Jason Snyder told the Philipstown Conservation Board the owner plans a private garage of about 1,000 sq ft near a state‑flagged wetland. Board members discussed DEC mapping changes and recommended staking the proposed and alternate locations and conducting a site visit before any permit decision.
At a July meeting of the Philipstown Conservation Board, Jason Snyder of Beatty and Watson said property owner Kevin (surname recorded variously in the transcript as Heady and Hetty) is proposing a private garage for personal vehicles and is aiming for "as much as close to 1000 square feet as he can, so, like, 30 by 33," Snyder said.
Snyder told the board the proposal is preliminary and that the owner has not yet submitted final construction plans. He also reported that a new Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) biologist had flagged a wetland boundary on the parcel and suggested the project "could just, get a a general permit from the DEC," though Snyder said he would verify the permitting path.
A committee member told the board that recent litigation prompted changes to wetland mapping and statewide guidance, and that prior pink polygons on DEC maps are no longer authoritative: "It was early spring when it happened," the member said, adding that the board should check current regulatory maps before concluding whether a DEC permit is required.
Board members and the applicant discussed site specifics, identifying the lot as off Victoria Drive, off Route 301/Lake Surprise Road, near the North Highlands Fire location. Members noted a wetland buffer, a nearby drainage/culvert and a "turtle crossing" on the west side of the wetland that they wanted to avoid when siting the garage.
Rather than make a permit decision at the meeting, members recommended a site visit and that the applicant stake the four corners of the proposed garage and the alternate location shown "outside of buffer" so the board can assess slope, septic proximity, and potential ground disturbance. The board did not vote on the garage proposal at the meeting.
The meeting opened with the chair introducing new board member Mackie Rondin and approving the May and June minutes earlier in the agenda; those approvals were recorded by voice but without a roll-call tally.
