Without any substantial comment, the Gardiner Town Board voted unanimously to reject the Awosting Club’s campground license at its February 7 meeting.

Supervisor Marybeth Majestic took the time to read the entire four-page resolution which was titled, “Awosting Club Incomplete Application.”

The board voted unanimously to turn down the Awosting Club’s application for a campground license because it was “defective and incomplete and is otherwise improperly made and rejected.”

The resolution listed 10 reasons why the application was defective and incomplete:

• It was not accompanied by an Environmental Assessment Form as required by SEQRA.

• It did not include a map/site plan that indicates the location of the zoning districts that bisect the property and the locations of the alleged campground uses.

• The application sought authorization for campground use in year-round structures that are not permitted for campground use outside an approved Campground Floating District, and that appear to have been already illegally erected without authorization and required permits.

• The application asserts that the structures constitute a pre-existing nonconforming use without demonstrating it.

• The application appears to seek a campground license for prohibited year-round campground use on property that is not located and does not qualify for designation as a Campground Floating District.

• The Geo Domes at the property appear to be permanent structures that have been installed without building permits and proper authorization.

• The application’s assertion that the structures constitute a pre-existing nonconforming use has not been established.

• A preliminary review of the available information for the Awosting Club’s property suggested that any pre-existing nonconforming use of the property was limited to seasonal canvas tents and a lodge facility, both of which appear to have been voluntarily discontinued for at least one year, thus losing any such status.

• The apparent primary use of the property is as a lodging facility, not a campground and a lodging facility is not authorized for the property. Use as a lodging facility cannot be included in a campground license.

• The application from the Awosting Club has not established or indicated a compliant and adequate water supply system, sanitation system and storm water draining system.

Emily Swenson, an attorney representing the Friends of the Shawangunks, lauded the board’s decision to reject the Awosting Club’s license application.

“The board’s resolution identified multiple ways that the Awosting Club is violating the law and cannot continue to operate,” she said. “Of course, we do wish it hadn’t taken so long. Friends of the Gunks have been drawing attention to this issue for a couple of years.”

Swenson said there has been a constant stream of guests to the Awosting Club over the past several years “without measures in place to ensure safety and mitigate pollution. Thankfully, no one has started a forest fire, but the risk was there.”

Swenson said she hopes the town board will take further action.

“We sincerely hope that the town board will act swiftly to enforce the law and restore the site to its condition that it was before the illegal construction,” she said. “The town board should issue a cease-and-desist order to stop unpermitted use of the Awosting Club and halt the damage that is occurring.”

John Alexander, who said he was a forester, disputed some of the claims about the Awosting Club put forward by the Friends of the Shawangunks.

“They have repeatedly demonstrated that they know nothing about natural resources,” Alexander said. “I hope the town board won’t be pulled along by the nose by these people.”

Awosting Club owner Camilla Bradley, who appeared via Zoom, claimed the resolution was “filled with misinformation.”

She said she submitted a site plan survey of the property in May 2022 to the town’s building inspector. She said the only response she received in the last six months from the office was that she’d be notified if she needed to provide more information. Bradley said she never heard another word.

“That’s a real disconnect there for the town to be supplying a resolution like this saying we’re missing various things when in fact nobody ever told us we were missing them,” she said.

She said she could not understand the town board’s motivation in opposing the Awosting Club’s campground application.

“The only thing I can come up with is you’re literally fighting a ghost,” she said. “The ghost of ‘Save the Ridge.’”

Bradley said board members have declined multiple invitations to visit the property and see what is occurring there.

“We can come to solutions together,” Bradley said. “Or we can go to war. I prefer solutions for your benefit and for ours.”