The Marlborough Planning Board gave qualified approval to a two-lot subdivision and a repurposed agricultural building – but a proposed resort complex on four lots dominated discussion at its Monday, November 6 meeting.

 

The two-lot River Vista subdivision was the subject of a public hearing at the meeting. The subdivision is on private River Vista Drive in Marlboro and would divide an existing seven-acre parcel into two lots – one almost 2.5 acres in size and the other approximately 4.6 acres. The site plan calls for the construction of a four-bedroom house on the smaller parcel and a three-bedroom house on the

larger one.

 

“The parcel owner is NIMA Contracting, and that’s who will probably build the homes as well,” noted Matt Towne of Willingham Engineering of New Paltz, the project’s engineer. 

 

One neighbor – James Nycz of 8 Rivercliff Drive – noted that there is still an 11-acre rear lot adjacent to the end of the cul-de-sac. It is also owned by NIMA Contracting. “Can the owner subdivide again?” Nycz asked. 

 

It cannot, noted Patrick Hines, principal of MHE Engineering of New Windsor. Hines is a consultant for the Town of Marlborough, and pointed out that the town’s code limits private roads to four homes. There already are two homes on River Vista Drive; thus, the two new ones would bring the street’s total to four.

 

Planning Board Chairman Chris Brand directed Town Attorney Meghan Clemente to draft a letter of approval for the subdivision, with one condition: The developer must assure the town that River Vista Drive has an adequate maintenance agreement, which would in turn assure all homeowners of snow removal during winter months.

 

The repurposed agricultural building – dubbed Mohegan Farms and located at 271 Milton Turnpike – has been on the agenda at four prior meetings since it first came before the Planning Board in June. The Board unanimously approved directing Clemente to draft an approval letter for the site, with a provision that any outstanding fees must be paid.

 

The Board tabled an application by Dennis and Carolyn Bush of 548 Lattintown Road to convey 1.46 acres of property to neighbor Brian Watson of 550 Lattintown Road. Boad member James Garofalo noted that the site plan filed lacked both zoning tables and metes and bounds for the parcel. Zoning tables summarize the various local zoning ordinance requirements of a project, while mete” are mathematical descriptions of a property line. The term “bounds” denotes what might form a property line, such as a stream.

 

Some Place Upstate, a resort-property proposal, would give new life to a cluster of cottages, a lodge, a barn, and other structures at the end of Mount Rose Road. Though the property has a history of hosting visitors from New York during the 1950s and 1960s, it has elicited some opposition from neighboring homeowners. They have complained about large events already taking place at the property, even though the application is still in the early stages of review.

 

Planning Board Member Bob Troncillito noted that when the project showed promise when it first came before the Board last spring. “However, things started to go south really fast,” he said. 

 

“This is a residential neighborhood,” Troncillito continued. “I’ve gotten texts from residents about loud music still going on at 1 a.m.”  He also described one event in which a large tour bus got stuck going uphill on neighboring James Street, to the consternation of homeowners.

 

“If I lived there, I wouldn’t be too happy with it either,” he said. 

 

“From our perspective these have been private events,” said owner Adam Broza, who moved to Marlboro in 2020 and purchased the four lots on which the structures sit. These have included the wedding of a cousin as well as other family events, he said. 

 

“We do have a lot of support from neighbors,” added Danielle Steinberg, Broza’s wife, “who are not here.”

 

Broza said he first began hiring tour buses during the Covid shutdown to shuttle friends and family because car rentals became scarce at that time, and the prospect of taking a train to Poughkeepsie and then hiring a cab or Uber car to travel to Marlboro was difficult from a logistics perspective.

 

Broza added that the bus incident was embarrassing to him as well, as these guests had to disembark and walk the rest of the way. The bus driver was later fired.

 

In his capacity as a consulting engineer for the town, Hines read a list of about 15 elements lacking in the site plan; several Board members added their own to the list. One sore point was the grass parking lot planned for large events, many of which would take place in a repurposed barn.

 

“I have issues with a permanent hotel using grass parking, which can easily turn into mud,” Hines said. “This lot should be paved.”

 

Hines said all interior roadways on the site should be a minimum of 20 feet wide, to facilitate access by firefighting vehicles – and include turnaround provisions. He also said the site plan should address how the owners would handle noise and light abatement, particularly for night events.

 

To help address some of these concerns, the Board and the Broza-Steinbergs agreed to hold a public information session. This would not be a formal public hearing but would give both the Board and anyone else from the town a look at the proposal – and a chance to ask questions. Several Planning Board members also plan to make a site visit later this month.

 

The public information session will take place at 7 p.m. on Monday, November 20 – immediately prior to the Planning Board’s next scheduled meeting.