Brandee Nelson of Crawford & Associates, representing the developer, said the firm is seeking a Planned Development District designation for the 34-acre parcel which would allow houses to be constructed on quarter- to half-acre lots. The land, part of 122 acres that would be included in the development, is currently zoned “half-acre residential,” she said. Nelson explained that the 88 remaining acres in the land would be designated “forever wild.”

Stockport Town Clerk Sandy Alger said the Town Board heard the request at a meeting earlier this month and that board members are reviewing the plan.

Planning Board Secretary Barbara Drabick said her panel, which had reviewed the proposal in its initial phases over the past several years, has had no involvement in recent months. “It went hot and heavy for four years and then everything stopped when the economy went south,” she said.

When initially unveiled, the proposal raised several concerns in the town, from the stress that much development would place on water and sewer systems,  to drainage (the land includes a wetland, and during heavy rains serves to catch run-off from Route 9 before that water reaches Chester Avenue), to the additional demands on emergency services in the community. Conservationists expressed concern about the development’s planned construction of high-end houses on the Claverack Creek, and residents questioned the impact on the viewshed since the development would block a sprawling, several-mile view from Stottville that stretches to the Berkshire Mountains.

Nelson said SSD Stockport has taken steps to address many of the concerns. For example, she said, the development, once spread across much of the wide-open space, has been limited to two sections within the 34-acre proposed Planned Development District. The single-family houses would be built along a new road that would be constructed from the end of Sunset Avenue (located off Chester Avenue) to Route 9. The proposed age-restricted townhouses would be constructed in the northwest corner of the property, which is located in the vicinity of the town’s older water tower, located near the veteran’s monument on Route 9.

Nelson also explained that the development would be set back farther from Route 9 in an effort to reduce the height of the houses as viewed from the road and the existing houses along Route 9, thus allowing for a continued view of the Berkshire Mountains. She also assured the board that no houses will be constructed along the Claverack Creek. This change from the original plan was in response to concern raised by the Columbia Land Conservancy. “We had spoken to the folks at the Land Conservancy, and there were concerns over protecting the waterfront area of the creek,” Nelson said.

Asked about the economics of the proposal, especially given the stagnant housing market in Columbia County, Nelson said that the developer believes there is a market for the houses in Columbia County. “I think there is a good market for this. We are excited about the [Widewaters] development occurring in Greenport, and we are hopeful that this can be a really good project,” she said. The Widewaters Plaza project is located less than a mile south of the planned Route 9 entrance to the development.

Town officials said they expect the revised project will require several months of review.