MAMAKATING – Duane Roe, the former Town of Mamakating Supervisor and developer, came before the Village of Wurtsboro Planning Board this past week to unveil plans for a new development — to be known as Kaufman Farms East — which will occupy the old Kaufman Farm on the west side of Pennsylvania Avenue. The 72-unit complex of moderately-priced townhouses will be built on the 85-acre parcel, with most of the units consisting of two bedrooms and approximately 1600 square feet. A handout prepared for the Village of Wurtsboro states that the development will create "affordable workforce and other moderate income housing much needed by the community." It is thought that each unit would list for approximately $250,000.

According to Roe and his spokespersons, the plan will have a number of features and improvements which will benefit the Village of Wurtsboro. Among these will be a pond, to which the general public will have access, as well as a pair of tennis courts. E. Scott Leonard, of E. Scott Leonard Associates, a land-use and planning firm hired by Mr. Roe, stated that the development will be in keeping with the surrounding area.

"One of the first things I noticed about the site were the number of mature trees," Leonard says. "We will do our best to preserve as many of these trees as possible."

The design of the town homes will be somewhat homogeneous in nature, with each of the 24 buildings containing four units a piece. The colors of paint employed will be of neutral earth tones, in an effort to make the development blend in with its surroundings.

The development will consist of three circular "clusters" of eight buildings, with the entrances and driveways for the town homes located in the center. The back yards and patio areas of each unit will be on the outside of the circular clusters, giving each residence a certain amount of distance from its neighbor.

"We're maximizing the rear of [each] unit when it comes to privacy," Leonard says.

There were, however, a number of concerns expressed by village officials, including those dealing with water and sewage. The development will tap into the village water system, and it is expected that it will consume approximately 17,000 gallons of water per day, which would be a 10 to 15% increase over current village water usage amounts.

The project will also have a centralized wastewater system, which will include septic tanks and a treatment facility. The treated effluent will then be fed into the village sewer. The current village systems are adequate to deal with the increased demand, according to Roe. The water and sewerage systems will be maintained by the homeowners association.

There are also wetlands on the site which are regulated by the State Department of Environmental Conservation. However, the development will contain what is known as a "rain garden," a small man-made wetland which is designed to collect runoff from parking areas. This type of effluent — which often contains chemicals such as motor oil and antifreeze — will filter through the basin, thereby reducing the potential toxicity of this runoff.

There was also concern that the roads in the new development — which will also be maintained by the homeowners association — be designed and constructed in such a way that the village could take over the care and maintenance of them in the future, the concern being that private roads are often built in a manner not consistent with minimum design standards for public use. Roe and his team stated that the roads would be constructed in a manner in keeping with other public roads.

The board voted to close the public hearing phase of Roe's application, though it left open the written-comment portion for another 20 days. Members of the public have until December 24 to submit comments in writing.

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