BARRYVILLE, NY — The Catskill Mountains Resort (CMR) property in Barryville is still headed for sale, even as the property has been closed due to violations.

CMR first received a special use permit in 2015 to operate as a family resort combined with a restaurant and a bar. The permit was voided in the summer of 2020, after complaints that it opened as a summer camp for girls in violation of COVID protocols.

A new special use permit was issued in July of 2021, allowing the resort to reopen. Neighbors who attended the public hearing complained of harassment during the period when the resort was closed.

The experience gave CMR founder and owner William Zaccari the desire to sell the property, feeling unwelcome in the area, he told the River Reporter in the summer of 2022. He made arrangements to lease the property to a Jewish group with the option to buy if it could get a special use permit from the town.

The group still plans to purchase the property, according to Zaccari in an email dated February 1; that sale is supposed to go through by March 1.

The special use permit that was said to precede the sale has not yet come through. No one from CMR has submitted any kind of application, according to planning board chairperson Norm Sutherland.

In the meantime, the property has been investigated due to reports of violations.

“Several issues have arisen regarding the Catskill Mountains Resort’s operations,” Highland attorney to the town Michael Davidoff told the River Reporter. The town was investigating those issues in conjunction with the Department of Health (DoH).

According to the DoH, the Town of Highland made the decision to close CMR, and to keep it closed based on violations of local codes. The DoH made an inspection of CMR on January 30, and “during a reinspection on February 2, the DoH confirmed that the violations it cited previously had been corrected,” the DoH told the River Reporter.

The local codes that remain in violation include electrical and fire codes, according to Davidoff. “Additionally, observations of the current use of the premises indicate that the use is not consistent with the current special use permit issued by the Town of Highland Planning Board for approval to operate as a family resort/motel/hotel, bar/lounge and restaurant. The operators need to obtain a special use permit to operate the premises as they are currently utilizing the premises consistent with the Town of Highland code.”

Several sources report that the group at CMR is using it as a school. That use would not be covered under the resort’s 2021 special use permit.