Red Hook public hearing on adding five wetland parcels draws sharp public criticism over notice and process

The Red Hook Town Board on May 12 heard a packed public hearing about a proposal to add five surplus parcels owned by Water District No.1 to the town’s Community Preservation Plan (CPP), a change that would make the parcels eligible for acquisition to protect water resources.

Residents, the Village of Red Hook and local landowners told the board they support protecting wetlands but criticized the town’s process and notices. Roxanne Fisher, who identified herself as a resident of Barrytown, told the board the public notice posted the wrong year and alleged the notice, environmental assessment form and resolution were inconsistent. “Your notice labels tonight’s action as type 1, yet your resolution calls it unlisted,” she said, adding that she believed a full EAF was required for a Type 1 action.

Mayor Karen Smythe, reading a letter from the Village of Red Hook, asked the town to negotiate a memorandum of understanding so village property owners would have representation and an annual allocation from CPF proceeds. Smythe said the village had been left without input despite paying into the fund and that “community character includes village character.”

Neighbors pressed the board to confirm the parcels’ wetland status and to give adjacent property owners direct notice. Jeremy Cohen and Luciano Bellivia, who live near the parcels, said the wetlands are integral to neighborhood character and urged preservation. Several speakers asked the board to obtain a jurisdictional determination (JD) from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) before moving forward.

The board’s chair stressed that the current vote would only amend the plan to make the parcels eligible for future acquisition, not authorize acquisition or development. He also said the water district could put the parcels up for sale if the town did not acquire them, and noted the time pressure around bids for a separate water-tank rehabilitation project.

Board members and residents disagreed about the appropriate scope of public notice. Some argued for certified letters to neighbors within a standard radius; others said certified mail for hundreds of parcels would be cost‑prohibitive and favored postcards and water‑billing notices to reach the 488 district users. The chair said the town will send postcards to water‑district users and do broader outreach where feasible.

A motion by a board member to extend the public hearing to a later date was seconded but failed on a tied or split vote. Several members agreed to file a partial jurisdictional determination with DEC to clarify wetland lines, acknowledging that a DEC response could take months.

What happens next: the public hearing remained open for comment at the meeting but the board did not adopt an inclusion resolution that night. The town agreed to broaden outreach, seek a JD from DEC and provide more documentation to the public; any formal acquisition of parcels would require a separate application and hearing.

Why it matters: inclusion in the CPP would make the parcels eligible for acquisition using community preservation funds; some speakers warned the change could be used to support other town financing needs unless procedural safeguards such as a village MOU and clear environmental review are in place.

Key sources: Chair (presiding supervisor), Deanna Cochran (town clerk), Karen Smythe (Mayor, Village of Red Hook), Roxanne Fisher (public commenter), Eric Harpuzas (public commenter), Jeremy Cohen (public commenter), Luciano Bellivia (public commenter).