Kinderhook,

 an endangered species?

You bet it is!

Widewaters development of DeWitt, NY has proposed to build a $10 million dollar strip mall on the 19.9 acre site located at the intersection of Routes 9, 9H, and State Farm Road (across from Four Brothers Pizza). It would consist of 5 buildings, including a Hannaford grocery store and a restaurant. There would be parking for about 480 cars. Concerns about the changes to our community, should the Town Planning Board approve the project, are:

Traffic will increase on Route 9/9H. Traffic will also increase in surrounding neighborhoods as drivers attempt to bypass the congestion at the intersection where the mall entrances will be.

Stewart’s has opened their Township store immediately south of McDonald’s and that will cause even more traffic congestion if a mall opens across the street.

Proposed traffic "roundabout" to mitigate traffic at mall. New York State Dept. of Transportation has suggested that a roundabout at the intersection of Routes 9, 9H and State Farm Road would be the only possible traffic mitigation.

Widewaters’ traffic studies have failed to adequately address the safety of pedestrians, school busses, and student drivers entering and exiting the Ichabod Crane school campus. In addition, one entrance to Stewart’s is directly across from the Ichabod Crane bus driveway, increasing the hazard.

Widewaters intends to supply the mall with water from 2 wells, and dispose of wastewater through a septic system.

Soil percolation tests show that the perc rate at the site is so fast that wastewater will not be adequately filtered.

Widewaters has failed to offer any solutions to this problem. A drainage pond to contain parking lot runoff from storms. The pond is to be located next to the wells and may also result in water pollution, not to mention West Nile virus.

Property values of homes in surroundingneighborhoods will decline.

In the GU Mall there are currently 4 empty stores and several others around town. Kinderhook does not need more empty commercial spaces.

The mall will increase the burden on the Town’s emergency services. The Widewaters proposal does not address whether the Town’s volunteer fire and rescue units are properly equipped to respond to a fire or other emergency at the mall.

This is the largest project the Town has ever considered, and it will set a precedent for future development of the Route 9/9H Corridor.

Establishment of a strip mall may discourage other types of development that would be just as beneficial and less disruptive.

The Widewaters group has declined to discuss locating the project at an alternate site.

The Town’s comprehensive plan cites the small-town, rural atmosphere as a defining characteristic of Kinderhook. A strip mall, especially at the proposed location, will take away a great deal of that characteristic forever, blocking distant views of the Catskill Mountains and covering 20 acres of Columbia County’s best farmland soil with asphalt and cement, never to be recovered.

Your comments are important      because they will help the Planning Board make their decision whether to approve the project or not. Be sure to write to the editor of the Chatham Courier, the Independent and the Register-Star today at:

courier@localnet.com editorial@registerstar.com

letters@indenews.com

This strip mall proposal is not in Kinderhook’s best interest!

Join with KNGG!

You can help our legal efforts to provide Kinderhook with thoughtful and planned development by making a tax-deductible contribution to:

Kinderhook Neighbors for Good Growth

P.O. Box 424

Kinderhook, NY 12106

Phone: 758-2646 or KNGG@berk.com