Bethel board denies lakeside septic waiver

Posted 8/21/12

WHITE LAKE, NY — Developer Shaya Boymelgreen suffered a setback this week as the Bethel town board voted to deny the septic waiver he had sought. He has been trying for several years to create a …

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Bethel board denies lakeside septic waiver

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WHITE LAKE, NY — Developer Shaya Boymelgreen suffered a setback this week as the Bethel town board voted to deny the septic waiver he had sought. He has been trying for several years to create a four-lot subdivision and build a 12,000-square-foot home on one of the lots.

The project is located in Plum Beech, on the shore of White Lake. The developer’s engineer has said that the proposed building could not be serviced by a traditional septic system and had asked for a waiver so that he could construct a non-standard system.

The town board had asked the planning board for its advice on the matter. At the town meeting on August 12, town supervisor Dan Sturm read the letter from the planning board, which said in part that at the planning board meeting, “Tim Gottlieb, the applicant’s engineer, stressed that the site soils are not adequate to support conventional sewage disposal systems, not even for two-bedroom homes. The logic of determining the soils cannot support a two-bedroom home, then proposing a 12,000-square-foot home in its place, escapes us. It is the opinion of the planning board that the waiver request should not be granted.”

Sturm also read a letter from the town engineer, Michael Weeks, which said in part, “It appears that the soils testing may not be in compliance with the Bethel town code.” Three of the perc tests, which measure how quickly liquids are absorbed into the soil, were said to be outside the standards required by the town code for “absorption fields.”

The board then voted unanimously to deny the waiver. Members of The Beechwood, which is the neighborhood adjacent to Plum Beech, who have battled the wealthy New York City developer in court, broke into a round of applause when the vote was completed.

This is probably not the end of the battle. Boymelgreen may come up with another plan, or he may take the matter to court, as he has done in a past conflict with neighbors; in that case courts ruled against Boymelgreen twice.

Building activity

In other news, Sturm said building activity in the town has picked up. He said building permit fees for July were up 42% over the same month in 2014. He said spending on construction projects for the month was also up to $681,000 which is a 66% increase over last year.

Sturm said that year to date, the town is up 62% for a total of $3.9 million. He said, “So things are happening out there, building houses, decks, stores, which is a good sign.”

The board also voted to set the wheels in motion to address four problem houses in the town. Three of them are considered to pose health or safety dangers to the community, and one has a collection of junked or unregistered vehicles and car parts on the property, which violates town code.

If the owners of the properties don’t address the issues, the town will, and the costs will be levied onto the owner’s tax bill.

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