Clover Reach to Planning Board: “We'll Do What We Want”

On February 21, Clover Reach Partners—aka Claverack Builders—presented a revised site plan for “The Woods,” a subdivision of 16 high-end houses on the steep hillside above Summit Lake.

The revised plan showed slight improvements to driveway grades, bringing all below 15%, and a two-way loop road that meets state code. In a bizarre twist, Clover Reach then told the Philmont Planning Board to ignore the revised plan and return to the narrow, one-way loop road, explaining that bringing the road up to state code would be more expensive to build, require substantially more tree cutting and drainage, and cut back the “conservation” area, aka traffic median, inside the loop road. 

Clover Reach faced withering questioning from Planning Board member Tom Paino, who repeatedly called the narrow road unsafe and unable to handle multiple mutual aid vehicles in the event of an emergency.

He also objected to Clover Reach’s “covenants,” or agreements between the developers and home buyers, which the Village would be liable to police and enforce. The covenants, for example, allow homeowners to cut up to 50% of mature trees and 100% of smaller trees, effectively destroying the viewshed above Summit Lake and decimating bird and wildlife habitat.

However, Planning Board chair Robert Macfarlane ignored Paino’s objections, and along with the other four members of the board, moved the “new” old proposal toward a public hearing on March 20.  

Summit Lake Conservation Group will continue to fight this unsafe and ill-advised plan, which we will have a permanent negative environmental impact on the lake and forever transform the rural heart and nature of our Village.