Annexation updates
KIRYAS JOEL — The Village of Kiryas Joel has received 4,110 written comments to its Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement and Annexation Petition, and the overwhelming majority favor annexing land from the unincorporated portion of the Town of Monroe into the Village of Kiryas Joel.
Only 56 commentators were opposed, according to the Albany-based public relations firm handling information about the annexation bids.
Kiryas Joel is the lead agency in determining the environmental merits of two proposals - one that would add 507 acres into the village and a second, smaller one covering 164 acres.
On June 10, the village and the town held a public hearing to solicit testimony. People had until June 22 to submit written comments.
Consultants hired by Orange County and planners hired by the Town of Monroe submitted critical assessments of the draft statement. Those reports claimed the draft failed to address critical issues such as population, water, sewage and public safety.
Village officials, in their press release, wrote: "The Village Board, department heads and its planning consultant, Tim Miller Associates of Cold Spring, are in the process of reviewing all comments and will be responding to pertinent questions in a Final Generic Environmental Impact Statement that will be released for public review later this summer. "
Comments can be accessed at: http://kjseqra.com.
9,020 signaturesAssemblyman James Skoufis (D-Woodbury) last week delivered 9,020 petition signatures to the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The petitions urge the governor to sign two bills passed by the Assembly and the Senate that would expand oversight of annexation proposals such as the current one that seeks to annex land from the Town of Monroe into the Village of Kiryas Joel.
The effort was the culmination of an online petition drive.
“The overwhelming majority of residents in Orange County realize that there are serious and legitimate concerns with the current annexation process," Skoufis said in his press release. "This bill corrects an inadequacy in the process and ensures that all controversial annexation bids in New York State are more properly and thoroughly reviewed.”
Skoufis said the petition included 506 signatures gathered in Kiryas Joel on a petition developed and circulated by concerned residents of the village.
According to Skoufis, the Kiryas Joel-developed petition reads: “The proposed annexations by the Village of Kiryas Joel have antagonized our neighbors. The process has not been open and transparent. We believe every group involved should have a say in this process. We urge Governor Cuomo to sign legislation that will create a more open discussion with regard to the proposed annexations.”
The legislation would allow county planning departments to review specific annexation petitions, including the current ones initiated by Kiryas Joel, a process that already exists for many municipal planning and zoning actions.
Following a complete review of the annexation, the county would send a recommendation of approval or disapproval to the municipalities; should the municipalities wish to override a recommended disapproval and proceed with the annexation, a four out of five super majority vote of each affected board would be required.
The legislation also has the support of the Sierra Club, Scenic Hudson, the New York State Association of Counties, Hudson Valley Patterns for Progress, the Orange County Association of Towns, Villages, and Cities, the Orange County Citizens Foundation, and most recently the New York League of Conservation Voters.
- Bob Quinn