Liberty board approves moratorium

Summer camps on hold for a year

Fritz Mayer
Posted 4/18/17

LIBERTY, NY — With at least two of its council members doing so reluctantly, the council of the Town of Liberty voted in favor of adopting a moratorium on the creation of summer camps in the …

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Liberty board approves moratorium

Summer camps on hold for a year

Posted

LIBERTY, NY — With at least two of its council members doing so reluctantly, the council of the Town of Liberty voted in favor of adopting a moratorium on the creation of summer camps in the town for a year, with two possible extensions of three months each.

Four council members voted in favor with one, Vincent McPhillips, abstaining because of what he called a conflict of interest. He said he abstained because a summer camp project had been proposed for “my neighborhood” on Castle Hill Road and was linked to the latest round of discussions about summer camps in the town; he was concerned that the appearance would be that he supported the moratorium only because of the project in his neighborhood. In reference to the fact that most summer camps in the town cater to the Hasidic Jewish population, he said emphatically, “I am not prejudiced, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to be sued for getting elected to this town over something stupid like camps.”

That brought this response from council member Dean Farrand, who initiated the moratorium. He said, “I don’t think anybody on this board is prejudiced… This conversation started in 2012; documents will show that.” He said the matter was ignored for years, although members of the public have asked the board to address the matter several times over the years. Farrand said he tried to bring the matter up again in February of this year, and the other board members, “put their heads down, no conversation. So, if the only way to get this conversation out is to put a moratorium out, and make people take a stand, then I’m guilty as charged, folks.”

Supervisor Charlie Barbuti said he was “conflicted” over the question, and one concern was that the board would pass this moratorium, and then nothing would be done. The board has been struggling to make other updates to town zoning since 2012, and according to the town clerk, spent over $100,000 with consultants in the process. Despite all the time spent, Barbuti said he doesn’t have a document that he and the board feel “will promote growth and economic stability in the town.”

Council member Brian McPhillips expressed concern, among other things, about how the process of considering the moratorium played out. He said that many people of the town were aware of the existence of the proposed moratorium before he was.

Members of the public have made their feelings well-known in the past two town meetings, with more than 100 people turning out at each. Almost all who spoke were in favor of the moratorium, including Ronald Stabak, the mayor of the Village of Liberty. Resident Don Nichols presented the board with a petition backing the moratorium with the signatures of 138 residents.

Barbuti said he would vote in favor of the moratorium if he could get a commitment from the other board members that they would meet an additional week every month to resolve the issue, and all of the board members indicated they would. Ultimately the members agreed to meet weekly to work on the summer camp question.

Also speaking at the meeting was town clerk Laurie Dutcher, who owned the property that was proposed to be a site for a summer camp for autistic Hasidic children. She noted that the buyer approached her through a real estate agent. She said she had been mistreated by two board members who organized the moratorium drive without going to her directly to speak to her about it. The offer on her property has since been withdrawn.

Dutcher said a couple of times she does not think summer camps should be located in quiet, residential areas. She added that the board has been working on zoning changes for five years, “and there are still summer camps in residential areas.”

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