GOSHEN – A comprehensive assessment
of the proposed annexation of 507 acres of privately owned land into the
Village of Kiryas Joel has been completed by private companies hired by
Orange County in conjunction with its planning department.
The report outlines a number of concerns about the proposal, but concludes
that growth of the Hasidic community will continue.
By 2040, the projected population of the village will be about 96,000,
the consultants figure. “It is this potential for explosive growth
that feeds much of the concern within neighboring communities.”
Among the county’s concerns are the impact it would have on the
county’s water and sewer infrastructure.
“The rights of Orthodox Jewish landowners to develop their land
in housing are no more nor less than the rights of other landowners,”
the county study said. “The rest of the county has the right to
ensure that this process of development is sustainable and is consistent
with community standards, as reflected in environmental and land use law
and precedent.”
The report said, “Members and supporters of the community plus landowners
willing to develop or sell land have undeniable rights in their property
that includes ability to develop that property for housing – within
established legal limits,” the CGR report states.
The leadership of Kiryas Joel is entitled to pursue its obligation to
provide housing for its new families. “But that right is not unlimited
just because this is a religious community,” the report continues.
“While it can choose to be set apart culturally, Kiryas Joel and
the larger Orthodox Jewish community still must comply with laws passed
by Orange County and the State of New York that are intended to ensure
that growth is substantial and balances the interests of all of the region’s
residents. These conflicts can and should be settled through negotiated
agreements, not through the courts.”
The county-funded report says public assistance among the village’s
residents is high, at 21 percent, is the largest share of Medicaid spending
in the county and it says other public assistance benefits to the village
are “well above the village’s six percent share of the population.”
The report also says the Kiryas Joel Union Free School District is a major
recipient of federal Title funds receiving nearly $7 million as compared
to the $1.3 million the Monroe-Woodbury Central School District receives.
The assessment also says that the village does not comply with state land
use laws, changes in zoning ordinance, issuance of special use permits,
site plan and subdivision approvals and use or area variants to the county
planning department as required by state law.
It says the village fire department relies heavily on mutual aid from
other fire companies and expansion of the village would exacerbate that
problem.
Court battles between the county and village have cost county taxpayers
$1.9 million for outside counsel and over $2 million for Kiryas Joel over
the past five years. “These conflicts can and should be settled
through negotiated agreements, not through the courts,” the county
study said.
