Bellefield developers present Phase 4 condo and villa plans; board requests detailed engineering updates and a resubmittal for July 15

Bellefield representatives presented an extensive workshop to the Hyde Park Planning Board on June 25 outlining plans for Phase 4 (4A/4B) of the Bellefield development: condos, villas and associated site infrastructure.

The team said drawings were substantially complete and that they would submit a full plan set on the coming Tuesday, aiming to be on the July 15 planning-board agenda and to request a public hearing for August 5. Consultants and board members confirmed circulation to county planning and noted outstanding reviews with the Department of Health (DO), the water authority and the fire department (Dan Nichols).

Key technical changes and requests included: adjustments to unit counts (townhouses 160 → 180; patio homes 80 → 68; cottages 58 → 50) — noted by the developer as within the planning board’s up-to-15% adjustment authority — and the relocation of some driveways that required reconfiguration of bio-retention and stormwater practices. The applicant described the primary pond as an engineered stormwater feature with an aquatic bench, four forebays for pretreatment, modeled HydroCAD hydrology and a 36-inch outlet pipe routed toward wetlands; the board asked for additional cross-sections, the pond planting plan and maintenance-access details.

The board and consultants raised a series of plan-detail requests that the applicant agreed to provide with the resubmittal: clearer utility plan labeling (pipe sizes/types), catch basin and curb details, truck-turn templates and verification for dumpster and refuse truck access, average-grade calculations and confirmation the average grade will comply with the 65-foot limit, sections/isometrics showing courtyard relationships and entries, architectural elevations focused on entry definition and mail/package handling, and a building-certificate-of-occupancy (CO) phasing plan showing landscaping and permit expectations per building.

Landscape topics included requested pollinator planting along trails, confirmation of non-invasive species, substitution language for species changes between phases (2A vs Phase 4) and coordination to avoid conflicts where earlier-phase plantings are already constructed. The board also discussed lighting (no lighting on the pond path), safety signage at the pond per DEC guidance, and a proposed turtle-migration barrier approach to reduce wildlife passage into construction areas during phased work.

Consultants and the developer said they will address these items in the Tuesday resubmittal and expect a streamlined comment set at the July 15 meeting, with conditional site-plan approval targeted in August pending DO/DEC and county sign-offs.

Next steps: Bellefield will submit updated drawings; the planning board will circulate to county planning and agency reviewers and consider scheduling a public hearing for August 5.