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Environmental Reviews Of Controversial Development Projects Advance During Summer Sessions Before Local Land Use Boards
REAL ESTATE
This summer season means more than beaches and barbeques. It is also a time when local governments have planned public hearings on major development projects pending before town and village land use boards. At the public hearings, residents in attendance will be afforded an opportunity to weigh in on some of the most significant real estate development proposals pending in Rockland County.
The projects have already been determined to have the potential for significant environmental impacts on the sites and surrounding areas, and extensive study has already been undertaken by the developers, their experts, and to a limited extent, the affected municipalities and their experts.
All have received “positive” declarations under SEQRA, meaning the developers are required to undertake a detailed study of significant environmental harms, mitigation of those harms, and consideration of alternatives that have lesser environmental impacts.
The three projects, set for public hearings this summer, include: (1) a 454,00 square foot warehouse on a former landfill in the Village of West Haverstraw; (2) the merger of 16 tax lots to make way for the construction of several large warehouse in Clarkstown; and, (3) the construction of 562 residential units, along with 100,000 square feet of commercial space on 43 acres in the Town of Ramapo.
Let’s take a deeper dive into each project.
Village of West Haverstraw Warehouse Project
Last month, the Village of West Haverstraw’s Planning Board accepted a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) on the proposed Grassy Point Bend Wholesale Storage and Warehousing Facility.
The proposal, which has met with opposition from homeowners in a residential neighborhood just to the west of the site, calls for the construction of a 454,000 square foot warehouse facility and accessory office space, with truck loading docks, trailer storage spaces, car parking spaces and related infrastructure and lighting. The site, a former construction and demolition debris landfill, has been closed for decades.
The proposed Grassy Point Bend warehouse project borders a residential neighborhood to the west, Minisceongo Creek to the east, and Rockland Green’s soon-to-open animal shelter to the north. The facility, with 76 truck bays will operate 24/7 though no tenant has yet been secured, according to the developer. The primary driveway for trucks entering the facility will be on Ecology Road, directly across from the planned animal shelter. The other will be on Grassy Point Road.
The 34-acre landfill site was never properly closed. The grassy hill is covered with two feet of topsoil and overgrown vegetation. The project sits in the Village’s PLI (Planned Light Industrial) zone which allows for warehouse uses as-of-right, but the developer is requesting two variances – for building height and reduced parking.
A public hearing on the Draft EIS will be held on August 12, 2026 at 7:00 pm at 130 Samsondale Avenue, West Haverstraw, NY. Written comments on the Draft EIS will be accepted until September 10, 2026. Residents will have the opportunity to comment on the DEIS and address their concerns directly to the Village Planning Board.
The Draft EIS is available at 130 Samsondale Avenue, West Haverstraw and online at: https://www.westhaverstraw.org.
Cedar Corners Warehouse Project, Congers
Last month, the Clarkstown Planning Board accepted a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the proposed Cedar Corners development. The developer’s plans include the merger of 16 separate tax lots, followed by the subdivision of the 16 lots into three parcels. Two of the parcels will have commercial buildings. One with 380,780 square feet of warehouse/office space, 72 loading berths, and 394 parking spaces. The other will have two warehouses totaling 180,740 square feet and 199 parking spaces. The third lot is set aside for a fast-food drive-thru restaurant with 34 parking spaces. Part of the proposal includes about 2.5 acres placed in a conservation easement.
The property is located on 41.13 acres of CO, COS and LS zoned land on the west side of NYS Route 303, bordered by the CSX railroad to the west and an existing shopping center and existing dwellings off Meola Road in Congers.
The site is designated by New York State as a “significant natural community,” populated with oak and tulip forests, and is part of a 175-acre contiguous habitat for wildlife. The site also has 5.5 acres of wetlands as well as wetlands contiguous to adjacent sites.
The area in Congers along Route 303 is designated as a “Disadvantaged Community” under the NYS DEC guidelines, requiring a more detailed analysis of the environmental impacts to ensure that the community benefits from the state’s transition to cleaner, greener sources of energy, reduced pollution and cleaner air, making the mitigation of air quality issues from diesel sources and trucking more important.
A public hearing on the Supplemental Draft EIS will be held on July 29, 2026 at 7:00 pm at the Town of Clarkstown Town Hall in New City. Written comments on the Supplemental Draft EIS will be accepted until August 10, 2026.
The Supplemental Draft EIS is available at https://www.clarkstown.gov/planning/downloads/
Carlton Road Planned Unit Development, Town of Ramapo
Last month, the Town of Ramapo Town Board determined that the proposed Carlton Road Planned Unit Development may have a significant adverse impact on the environment and ordered the preparation of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement. A draft scoping document is available online at: https://ramapony.portal.civicclerk.com/event/601/files/agenda/4503.
A draft scoping session (or public scoping meeting) under New York’s State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) is an official public meeting where citizens and agencies provide input on what environmental impacts should be studied in an upcoming Environmental Impact Statement.
Carlton Road Owner, LLC submitted a petition to the Town of Ramapo Town Board for planned unit development approval on property located at the corner of West Carlton Road and College Road totaling approximately 43.65 acres. The Carlton Road Planned Unit Development (“CR-PUD”) proposes a mixed-use development consisting of approximately 562 residential units including 110 one-bedroom, 266 two-bedroom, 106 three-bedroom, and 80 four-bedroom units in 19 residential buildings, as well as 105,600 square feet of commercial, retail or office space within two commercial buildings, and 1,550 parking spaces.
The CR-PUD requires planned unit development approval from the Town of Ramapo Town Board, as well as an amendment to the Town’s Comprehensive Plan. The project is located at 70 West Carlton Road and 109-111 College Road in the Town of Ramapo.
Last May, the Ramapo Town Board adopted a local law allowing Planned Unit Developments outside the Town’s Northeast Area on lots of 10 acres of more and allows a developer to seek “site specific zoning” as an overlay over existing zoning limitations, provided the plan is in accord with the town’s Comprehensive Plan, or any proposed amendments to the plan.
The site is currently zoned R-50 and is largely vacant except for one single-family house.
The session on the Draft Scope will be held on July 20, 2026 at 7:00pm at the 237 Route 59 Suffern, NY 10901.
None of the recent changes to SEQRA affect the environmental reviews required for each of these projects.
