MONROE- A bill, sponsored by State Senator James Skoufis (D, Cornwall), that changes village incorporation law in the state has been signed by Governor Kathy Hochul. The new law triples the threshold for the number of residents needed to create a new village and requires a study to be conducted on the fiscal and taxation impact before formation.
The new law will have a statewide impact but is particularly important in Orange County where an effort has been underway to create the new Village of Seven Springs, adjacent to the existing Village of Kiryas Joel. Skoufis has opposed the creation of the Village of Seven Springs since it was first proposed.
“The Seven Springs fiasco, which would have proven an impossible lift for local taxpayers all so a couple of wealthy developers could make a buck, has come to an end,” said Skoufis. “New villages require key services, such as sanitation, highway maintenance, and public safety. The suggestion that as few as 60 to 70 homes could sustain a robust municipal infrastructure was laughable, but would have done real and lasting harm to area taxpayers.”
According to Skoufis, when land was annexed to the Village of Kiryas Joel a handful of property owners in the Seven Springs area were left out of the annexation. He says these property owners became disgruntled because they were left out of the newly-annexed territory and began an attempt to form a separate village of around 600 residents.
Another key provision of the bill, besides significantly increasing the number of petition signatures, is that it eliminates an antiquated provision that gives landowners who own half of the assessed property the ability to petition for village incorporation.
“For far too long, village incorporation law has been stuck in past centuries,” said Assemblyman Chris Eachus (D, New Windsor), whose district would have included the proposed Seven Springs. “What we have seen as a consequence is new villages being formed around the state, not by the will of residents for increased government services, but by business interests for purely financial gain at the cost of irreparable environmental damage.”
