STOCKPORT HOUSING PROJECT MOVES FORWARD 

Mike McCagg

ccSCOOP News

07-01-10- 5:55 p.m. - The county’s first large-scale residential development in some time cleared another hurdle recently and is moving toward completing the regulatory process.

The 112-unit residential development planned by SSD Stockport for a field off Route 9 in the Hamlet of Stottville received “preliminary plat approval” from the Town Planning Board, reported Planning Board Chairman John Florio, Jr. The ruling means, said Florio, that “they have met all of the requirements in general,” including the requirements for utilities and locating sidewalks. The developer is now seeking an extension of the town’s sewer district to serve the thirty-five acres where the houses will be located within the total tract of 122 acres. The remaining eight-seven acres of the development will be open space, designated forever wild.

The sewer district currently extends only 500 feet off Route 9 and another 500 feet off Chester Avenue. The project calls for the construction of seventy-six single-family homes and thirty-six age-restricted town houses, mostly along an extension of Sunset Avenue, which would connect Chester Avenue to Route 9. This area is outside the boundaries of the current sewer district.

Supervisor Leo Pulcher said the Town Board will schedule a hearing on the proposed extension for its August meeting.

“It’s not a big deal," said Pulcher. "They would pay for all of the pipes and everything, and basically it is just up to us to say the district is now this big.”

The project, which has been in the planning stages for six years, was given a boost last fall when the Stockport Town Board enacted a Planned Development District zoning designation, allowing the single-family residences to be constructed on smaller than the half-acre lots required by the original zoning. That zoning designation kicked the planning review process into high gear.

The current proposal is considerably scaled down from what was proposed by the same developer five years ago. The original proposal involved more than a hundred single-family homes and several dozen town houses. The development has received support from the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce, though some Stockport residents—especially those on Chester Avenue—have expressed concerns about increased traffic, water run-off, and increased demands on the town’s infrastructure.