GOSHEN – The Orange County Planning Department released its comments on the Village of Kiryas Joel’s final generic environmental impact statement for proposed annexation of 507 acres of land from the Town of Monroe on Friday. A second annexation proposal would have 167 acres transferred from the town to the village.
The county study finds “there are gross deficiencies in the FGEIS concerning environmental, fiscal and social impact analysis of each annexation alternative.”
“The county continues to have serious concerns relative to the proposed annexations,” said County Executive Steven Neuhaus. “This report by our county planning department shows the analysis done by Kiryas Joel is not adequate. The annexation proposals are not in overall public interest.”
The county’s review found four major areas of concern in the village’s environmental review.
The county disagrees with the village that the proposal can be seen as just a simple municipal boundary change.
The county continues to recommend the village’s environmental analysis must go beyond 10 years.
Water supply remains a primary concern for the county, as well as many nearby municipalities. Development in the Kiryas Joel/Monroe area could well have impacts on water quality and quantity that is not adequately researched.
The county continues to view the alternatives to annexation proposed by Kiryas Joel as inadequate.
County Planning Commissioner David Church said they have “advised the Village of Kiryas Joel to conduct further research to address the issues we have raised.” He said the county’s concerns “have not been sufficiently addressed in the public environmental impact statements to date.”
