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The outrage, and now a committee to save the town #SaveWawayanda, is occurring in Orange County in Wawayanda.
Residents filled the chamber during a Planning Board meeting on Friday, Oct. 18, to complain about the warehouses and the possible health hazards associated with hundreds of trucks coming and going from the buildings at all hours.
Resident George Alberston said one 4,000-square-foot warehouse is within 100 feet of his property line. He's concerned about his quality of life and the health hazards.
Others want the board to stop additional warehouses from moving in and instead build houses, which they say are needed in the area.
Town Supervisor Denise Quinn said the zoning was passed in 1969, shortly after I-84 was built.
"The highway bisects our town, and the local officials set up the commercial areas near the interchange at the time," Quinn said.
Since the original zoning was established, it has been updated 32 times, all of which have had public hearings. In 2021, a zoning update reduced the allowed areas in the town warehouse.
Quinn said the companies developing the properties proposed for warehouses are Scannell Properties and RDM. No one has been informed who will occupy the property, but public hearings were held for the applications.
"A lot has changed in the town since I was a child," Quinn said. "On my mom’s side of my family, I am the fifth generation to have grown up in Wawayanda. As a child, we had many working farms in our town. In 2003, we had 25 dairy farms. Currently, we have three."
Quinn added that when the farmers stop farming, we must expect them to sell their land.
"The land is the farmer’s 401K that they have the right to sell to whoever will purchase it. By law, the person who purchases it has the right to develop it according to the zoning. These proposed warehouses are near the I-84 Interchange," Quinn said.
Quinn said the Town Board has supported purchase development rights (PDR) because they understand the importance of keeping as many of our farms as possible.
In 2022 and 2023, the Town Board passed a resolution requesting a PDR tax on properties sold.
We sent requests for the changes to the Assemblyman and State Senator, as they would have to make a law allowing this, but Quinn added that the State Legislator did not support the requests.
Residents are still working to save their town and waiting for the changes.
This is a developing story; check back to Daily Voice for updates.
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