REVERT ZONING OF GAN EDEN TO ITS ORIGINAL ZONING

I am a resident and property owner in the Town of Thompson and respectfully request that the Town Board to revise its zoning of the Gan Eden Property back to Rural Residential (RR-1) to allow for smart and measured growth and development in our Catskill community.

1. When Town zoning was amended by the Town Board in 2005 and 2007, replacing the RR-1 district with a Suburban Residential (SR) district, it was not done in conformance with Municipal Law Section 239, as confirmed in a letter from the Sullivan County Commissioner of Planning on June 21, 2005.

2. The Town Board not only exceeded its authority by filing these zoning changes but also lacked the municipal infrastructure to support the scale and density of development that the SR zoning allowed.

3. Today, the Town of Thompson is still without the water, sewage and road systems necessary for SR density allowances and RR-1 is a more appropriate and responsible zoning category.

4. All proposals, those now before the Town of Thompson Planning Board without a vested interest and those not yet presented to the Planning Board, should be subject to RR-1 zoning allowances.

I am opposed to the process by which our zoning was modified in 2005 and 2007 and request an RR-1 District be restored to ensure smart growth for the Town of Thompson, maintaining our community character, recognizing its natural resource limitations and encouraging responsible rural economic development.
Thank you for your consideration.