Wallkill Valley Times Apr. 11 2018

Vol. 36, No. 15 3 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 2018 3 ONE DOLLAR Win roundtrip airfare on us! See page 27 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 SERVING CRAWFORD, GARDINER, MAYBROOK, MONTGOMERY, PINE BUSH, SHAWANGUNK, WALDEN AND WALLKILL