Belleayre Resort news

JasonWx wrote

Better they improve the trails and incorporate Highmount...

They are.....unless you know something else....

ok great..I just skimmed the post...

Not sure if this was mentioned elsewhere in the forum, but final approval for Highmount:
http://www.firsttracksonline.com/2015/12/06/belleayre-expansion-into-former-highmount-ski-area-approved/

Jamesdeluxe wrote

Not sure if this was mentioned elsewhere in the forum, but final approval for Highmount:
http://www.firsttracksonline.com/2015/12/06/belleayre-expansion-into-former-highmount-ski-area-approved/

So what is a realistic guestimate as to whether this happens and when?  I know some folks who are state and county employees, and I am shocked about the difference between what the public is told and what really happens.  (EG, solar panels on a county/state building that is not hooked up, leaving me to conclude the only purpose is to make folks think 'green' things are happening to the property . . . .)

PRESS STATEMENT For immediate release

Contacts:   Kathy Nolan, Catskill Heritage Alliance kathynolan@earthlink.net 845-417-6489

Stephen Kent, KentCom LLC, skent@kentcom.com 914-589-5988

The New York State Supreme Court in Ulster County just issued a ruling on the Catskill Heritage Alliance’s lawsuit concerning the Shandaken Planning Board’s issuing of permits to Crossroads Ventures to build the Belleayre Resort.  Today, October 7, 2016, Kathy Nolan, chair of the citizens' group Catskill Heritage Alliance, issued the following statement in response:

“In one of two court cases we filed against developer Crossroads Ventures and reviewing bodies regarding the permitting process for the Belleayre Resort, the Catskill Heritage Alliance has obtained a significant ruling in our favor.

While it didn’t agree with all our contentions, the New York State Supreme Court in Ulster County did agree with our complaint that the Shandaken Planning Board acted beyond its authority in granting a Special Use Permit to Crossroads for some buildings in the proposed resort.  

The project as submitted to the SPB includes two hotels, an 18-hole golf course, a spa, a conference center, and multiple attached and unattached multi-unit lodges and duplex structures (time shares). Between the time shares and the hotels, the total number of rooms to accommodate guests would be 629. The Court’s decision remands Crossroads’ application to the Shandaken Planning Board and requires the Planning Board to “request that the ZBA [Zoning Board of Appeals] determine whether the proposed lodges and duplexes are permitted” under the Shandaken Zoning Code.

In other words, the Court's decision requires the Shandaken Planning Board to consult with the Shandaken Zoning Board of Appeals about whether multi-unit lodges and duplex structures are considered uses that are separate from a hotel and motel use according to the Shankdaken Zoning Code.  If they are considered separate uses, Crossroads would have to obtain one or more zoning variances in order to proceed with the project as currently configured.  It’s not at all clear those variances would be granted.

A decision is still pending in another case the Catskill Heritage Alliance filed last year against the Crossroads project with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.”