BETHEL, NY — The relationship between property owner Jeryl Abramson and officials of the Town of Bethel is still rather rocky, but that hasn’t stopped the town from moving forward with her plan to open a campground on the parcels she owns. They comprise some 100 acres and are known throughout the world as Yasgur’s Farm.

At a meeting of the Bethel planning board on June 6, Abramson’s engineer, Wes Illing, said that the campground would be built in two phases, with the first phase creating about 299 campsites, including spaces for a few recreational vehicles; phase two would create an additional 200 spots.

Illing’s plan for handling the sewage would require permission from the New York Department of Health (DOH) to create a “pump and haul” operation for phase one. When and if the plan moves to phase two, Abramson would seek to hook up to the town sewer system, which was expanded several years ago to reach the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts on Route 17B. For Abramson’s plan for phase two to work, the sewer would need to be expanded again, with her bearing the cost. Illing said the DOH would not allow the campground to use a “pump and haul” operation indefinitely, and a back-up plan would be to build an on-site septic system for phase one.

Planning board chairman Dan Gettel told Illing he should contact the town board about whether they would be willing to allow the campground to tie into the sewer.

There was some disagreement about parking spaces. The acreage is located in two districts; a campground is allowed in the agricultural district but not in the highway commercial district. The front part of the property is located in the Route 17B commercial district. Illing said, however, the office or administration buildings are a permitted use in the commercial zone, and that Abramson planned to erect a ticket booth in the commercial zone, and then create a number of parking spaces as an accessory use to the ticket office.

Gettel said he did not agree that creating “700 parking spaces” would be in keeping with the zoning code, and other members of the planning board seemed to agree with him.

Illing also asked for a waiver for required plantings as buffers to neighboring properties. Gettel said he would not vote in favor of any plan that did not include plantings to buffer the area between parking for the campground and Harold Russell’s farm, which is located next door.

Abramson said that wouldn’t become an issue until phase two, and at that point she planned to plant perhaps lilacs or hydrangeas as a buffer.

The plan also calls for the creation of two performance stages in the campground, which brought up the issue of whether the camp would need a noise permit. Illing said that both stages would be powered with 17,000 watts of amplification, whereas concerts at nearby Bethel Woods sometimes are powered with up to 250,000 watts of amplification, therefore he thought a noise permit would not be required.

But the town code says that any amplified music played outdoors requires a noise permit, and Gettel’s opinion was that the Illing and Abramson needed to talk to members of the town board, three of whom were in attendance, about whether a noise permit would be needed.

Gettel also asked for additional information to be included in a management plan, such as when the entertainment stages would be used and how often. Abramson explained that sometimes the events she holds on the property are spontaneous performances by campers themselves, and sometimes are performed by groups that she presents.

The board voted to hold a public hearing on the matter on July 11.