Developers seek grandfathering of approved warehouses as residents warn warehouses, traffic and wetlands risk in Wallkill master plan hearing

The Wallkill Town Board held a public hearing on the master plan review committee’s draft, where developers asked the board to recognize vested approvals for large warehouse projects and residents raised concerns about traffic, wetlands and housing density.

Charles Scott Lee, an attorney speaking for RDM Group, told the board the company has properties with approved or pending warehouse and light‑manufacturing uses and said one parcel — a consolidated tax parcel at 36 Finney Drive with planning‑board approvals for a 106,000‑square‑foot warehouse — would be prohibited if the draft’s zoning changes take effect. "We would request that there be some grandfather provisions in the local laws, that are subsequent to the adoption of the draft comprehensive plan," Lee said, asking the town to preserve vested development rights for projects that already have planning approvals or signed site plans.

Lee also said a distribution center at 599 East Main Street had final site‑plan approval for a 270,000‑square‑foot building and urged the town to acknowledge those vested rights in the zoning updates. Other speakers representing development interests echoed the request and said the draft’s numeric cap on post‑approval extensions (one year plus three 12‑month extensions in the draft, effectively up to four years) could be inflexible when developers are delayed by state permitting or other lengthy post‑approval processes.

Several attorneys and developers asked the board to allow planning boards or zoning boards of appeals to make extension decisions on a case‑by‑case basis rather than enforce a strict numeric limit, citing time needed for state permits and other external approvals.

Residents and other members of the public focused on the draft’s proposed concentration of warehousing near highway interchanges and on environmental and safety concerns. Jean Charles, an audience member who reviewed maps and wetlands data, warned that changing some parcels to highway‑commercial or allowing higher densities could threaten state‑regulated wetlands and create drainage and flood‑plain problems. "When we take out the grass and the trees, we're gonna have some issues there," she said, urging the plan to spell out impervious‑surface limits, noise controls and other code details.

Other residents said they feared increased truck traffic and urged the committee to design access so distribution traffic reaches Route 17 quickly rather than traveling on residential interior roads. Committee members and the supervisor responded that the recommendation intentionally concentrates warehousing in a few locations close to interchanges (for example, areas near Exit 119 and other highway interchanges) so heavy vehicles can use the highway with minimal travel through neighborhoods.

Committee members emphasized that the document under review is a draft intended to gather public input and that nothing in the draft is final. A committee representative said the master‑plan updates will be phased, reviewed in public meetings, referred to the county as required, and posted on the town website as recommendations evolve. "This is the purpose of the meeting — it's a draft," a committee member told the audience, and the hearing will remain open to receive written comments over coming weeks and months.

The record includes multiple specific requests and clarifications: developers asked for grandfathering language for specific parcel approvals; attorneys representing Turnpike/Goshen‑area parcels submitted tax‑map identifiers for the record and said they would file formal letters; and residents asked for clearer code language on setbacks, lot sizes, height limits, impervious surfaces and stormwater impacts.

Procedurally, the board voted to open the public hearing, kept the hearing open to accept further comments and then moved to adjourn the meeting. The committee encouraged anyone with concerns to submit written comments or to attend the committee's regular meetings (first and third Mondays) while the draft is revised.

What happens next: the committee will refine its recommendations, post updated drafts on the town website and accept written comments; any final master‑plan update would be referred to county authorities and followed by zoning‑change work to implement adopted plan elements.