The editorial by Will Dendis on April 9 is very misleading as he tries to guess as to Mayor Yerrick's [equally confusing] dismissal of the Saugerties Village Historic Review Board.
The New York's State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) requires the Village of Saugerties’ Historic Review Board to be a part of the review process for the Partition Street Project. In New York, planning boards, town boards, city councils and other government agencies must comply with strict procedures for the review of environmental impacts of proposed projects that they approve. If the procedures are not adhered to, citizens may challenge the decision in court, generally seeking to annull the decision in question and the environmental review process starts over.
When Will Dendis refers to the current historic Review Board (whom the mayor has tried to remove) as “inserting itself into the process” and that the Historic Review Board has "run amok”, the Saugerties Times editor has totally misrepresented the facts. The current board (Dave Minch, Michael Sullivan Smith and Rosemary Brackett) are required by SEQRA to form an opinion as to the project’s appropriateness. Since they are listed as interested agencies at the beginning of this process, they should remain in place until it’s resolution.
The SEQRA review process involves negotiation between interested parties, developers and the citizens of the Village of Saugerties. The Historic Review Board followed Village law and neither Mayor Yerrick [or Saugerties Village Board] has the authority to usurp the Village's own laws. Will Dendis is entitled to his opinion, but first he should get his facts straight.
Diana Bryan
845-246-3182
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