Vol. 36, No. 15 3 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 2018
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w w w .W a l l k i l l V a l l e y T i m e s . n e t
Fight for Tillson Lake
Grassroots effort opposes plan to drain 13-acre lake
Walden
amends
zoning
code
By TED REMSNYDER
Andrew Stoll photography
The Palisades Interstate Park Commission says the price of repairing the dam could be as high as $9 million.
By JASPREET GILL
[email protected]
For many Gardiner residents and
surrounding communities, Tillson
Lake has been considered a haven.
The 13-acre lake in the Minnewaska
State Park Preserve has been the site
of boating trips, fishing, swimming,
picnicking - and now is on track to be
drained because of an unsafe dam.
In March, a letter was sent to
homeowners near Tillson Lake by
Palisades Interstate Park Commission
Executive Director James Hall. A
portion of that letter says:
“Given the dam’s current design
and condition, it no longer meets the
dam safety requirements that have been
established for Class C dams. Because
these requirements are so stringent, the
projected costs to bring this dam into
compliance could be as high as seven to
nine million dollars. The Commission
has been unable to secure funding for
Continued on page 2
The first local law of the year in Walden
is now on the books after the Village
Board voted unanimously to approve
legislation during its April 3 meeting to
amend the village zoning code. Local Law
No. 1 of 2018 - Abandonment of Use will
now permit multi-family residences in
the village that were constructed before
1958 to continue to serve their original
purpose.
The legislation, which is expected
to affect approximately 15 buildings in
the village, will prevent multi-family
dwellings that were built before zoning
became effective in the village in 1958
from being classified as abandoned under
the zoning code. Walden hopes the bill
will allow building owners to sell the
properties in question if they’re able to
offer apartment units in the building
instead of having to transform the sites
into single-family residences.
According to the new law, for a
two-family structure to qualify for the
protections of the zoning change, “The
structure must have been built prior to
1958; the structure must have been built
as a two-family dwelling; each apartment
Continued on page 4
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