10/29/2021
What If?
Imagining a Possible Future…
In a raucous Stony Point Town Board meeting last night, residents expressed their dismay when told that the 266-acre Stony Point Golf Course, plus an additional 24 acres, have been re-sold to an unnamed developer. This follows the earlier sale of the same parcel to local businessman who had promised to turn the property into a high-end resort.
"The numbers didn't add up," said a spokesman for the developer, "so unfortunately we had to sell the property to the highest bidder."
Neither the developer nor his associates had ever managed a golf course or operated a resort. The developer paid $3 million for the property and expects to make a considerable profit on the sale.
"We got ripped-off," one angry resident said.
The resident pointed out that Stony Point taxpayers had already invested $25 million in the golf course.
"Who sells a 25-million- dollar investment for $3 million?" he fumed. "We could have paid off the bond in a few years and owned the entire property free and clear."
Several members of the Stony Point Town Board defended the initial sale to a first time developer, claiming the golf course had been a drain on tax revenue. This was met with a chorus of boos when it was revealed that the neighboring town of Haverstraw operates its own municipal golf course, the Rotella, at a profit.
"You mean we could have made money off the golf course? asked a stunned resident. "That's money the town could have used."
When asked what happens next to the golf course, the Town Board said its future was uncertain. "It's in private hands now," the Town Supervisor explained, "It'ss up to the new developer."
The attorney representing the Town of Stony Point added, "Our zoning laws offer us some protection, but if the new developer wants to build something zoning doesn’t allow, we would have to go to court to stop them. The case could drag on for years and potentially bankrupt the town. This is what happened in Airmont, Chestnut Ridge, Pomona and Clarkstown."
The attorney went to explain the federal law known as RLUIPA and the Fair Housing Act. Developers use these laws to sue towns ovwe zoning laws, which results in years of costly litigation.
Meanwhile, the building continues. The attorney conceded that if the original deal had been structured differently, all of this could have been avoided.
The meeting was held in the local Fire Hall because the building where the Town Board normally met, the Rho Community Center, was demolished to make way for a new community center that the developer had promised to build. The developer's funding ran out before construction could begin, and as of now the plans to build a new community center are in limbo.
The golf course itself remains closed until further notice.
"We've lost everything,"said a dejected Stony Point resident as she filed out of the fire hall.
'They even took away the dog park and our community garden."
It’s still not too late to avoid this future scenario from really happening!
Don't let politicians gamble with our future!
Vote NO on the Referendum!
