An email from Terramor and a few other notes – June 15th 2022

Here is the text of an email recently received by a number of Terramor neighbors. It was sent in the afternoon of Wednesday June 15th. Read on after the email text for a few more updates.

Dear Mark

First and foremost, thank you to everyone who joined us for our meeting and walk through of the property last week. We really appreciate your input and participation in these discussions. We are committed to continuing an open and honest dialogue with the neighborhood.

We understand there are concerns about the project as related to density, proximity to the neighbors, noise, traffic, wildlife, pesticides, water and sewage, and more. We are taking all of your feedback into consideration.

Density:
To clarify, we learned about the opportunity from the town to add additional sites just days prior to our last community meeting. Our decision to propose 75 units took many factors in to consideration; land management, adhering to our light-on-the land techniques, water usage, guest experience and infrastructure costs.

Rather than wait to submit the new conceptual layout with added sites to the Saugerties Town planning board, we made a conscious decision as a team to discuss this layout with you, our neighbors first. We understood that it would be a surprise to many of you, but wanted to be forthcoming so there were not any feelings of being misled when you saw the final design submitted to the town planning board. Because of this, we understand the surprise and frustration many of you felt during last week’s meeting. Our intent was, and still is, to be as open and honest with each of you during our planning process.

Proximity to Neighbors:
As a direct result of our walking the property, we are now looking at relocating a number of tents near neighbors on Raybrook to other areas of the resort.

Noise, Traffic, Wildlife, Pesticides, Water & Sewage:
We want to remind everyone that we have a very strict noise ordinance at Terramor. This will be followed at this property and is a condition of the special use permit. We are also currently working with traffic engineers to ensure the safest entry point and will complete additional studies per their direction.

While we have yet to identify pesticide or insect management for this particular property, we will work to find eco-friendly, safe solutions as an alternative to chemical management. Finally, we in the final stages of evaluating various systems with regards to water and sewer. We will have more information for everyone at our next meeting regarding water and sewer as the various systems are currently being evaluated.

Guests & Special Events:
Our resort caters to families and adults seeking to enjoy the outdoors, comfortably. A typical guest at Terramor will explore the area during the day and come back in the evening for a meal at the Lodge and to relax and unwind either by campfire, poolside or in the privacy of their tent. On average, a Terramor guest will spend $137/person a day in the local community during their visit. Terramor guests are individuals who simply want to get-away, enjoy nature and, in many cases introduce their families to the wonder of the outdoors.

We do plan to host limited weddings and retreats at this location. With that, special events will adhere to our noise ordinance and be required to stay on property to participate in the events. Eliminating the need for Terramor to have additional parking areas and lessening the traffic implications.

What’s Next:
We will be submitting a preliminary conceptual site plan and project details to the Town of Saugerties planning board for their July 19th meeting. The board will then provide technical feedback to us which may require additional work or studies on our end. All the information we submit will be public knowledge. Once the town planning board is satisfied, they will schedule a public hearing. At that time, they will make the decision regarding the special use permit.

We will be holding a third neighborhood meeting on Tuesday, July 26th to review our submitted site plan and project application. At this time, we will share any comments received from the planning board, answer any additional questions and hear your feedback.

Please check your emails soon for more information on this meeting.

Until then, please direct any questions or inquiries to Jenny McCullough at communityrelations@terramoroutdoorresort.com

Best,

Jenny McCullough
Director, Brand & Operations
Terramor Outdoor Resort

A few more points:
1) Before this email went out Jenny called me and we had a chat about the content. She said she would also be calling other neighbors. She asked for my assessment of the walkthrough. I directed her to the post before this one and gave her a quick précis. I emphasized the proximity to Raybrook and traffic issues. We spoke about Teramor seeking out a relationship with DOT to make the traffic issue top of mind there. Especially with regard to sight distances, speed limits and the Glasco/ 212 junction. She mentioned that they are conducting another traffic study and that this would be part of their submissions to the Board.

2) Today (Wednesday 15th) I stopped by the Town Hall and looked again at the Terramor public file. There was nothing new in it since last I visited and posted the documents seen here. I ran in to Kevin Brown, Assistant Building Inspector, and asked about the number of units. He confirmed that it was the his office which clarified the 50/75 units issue to Terramor. Our previous assumption that it was the County was incorrect and I apologize for the error. He was careful to point out that they merely told that developers that code could allow up to 75 tents/sites, but that the Planning Board would have final say over that number. He was also careful to state that the code was derived from rules about camping and RV establishments with transient occupancy. There was a very particular reason for this and I can share privately what that was. He also said that the dormitory for workers was allowed, and a lodge without residential units.

3) With regard to the timing of submissions from Terramor to the Planning Board: If they want to be before the Board July 19th, they have to submit all required paperwork by July 5th. We will do what we can to get those documents on to the site as quickly as possible. We’ll shoot for July 6th. The July 19th meeting will be public and, while we may not yet be able to comment in person, we encourage everyone to show up and listen carefully to the submission. This will be useful for the informal July 26th meeting with neighbors mentioned above in the email from Terramor.