A group of residents petitions the Town Board for the creation of the Village of Seven Springs

Published Aug 9, 2018 at 7:16 pm (Updated Aug 9, 2018)

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A group of Monroe residents have petitioned the Town Board to create their own village, to be called Seven Springs. The new municipality would be contiguous to the Village of Kiryas Joel, the Town of Palm Tree, the Village of Monroe, the Village of Harriman; the Village of Woodbury, the Town of Blooming Grove and Village of South Blooming Grove.

By Bob Quinn

MONROE — A group of Monroe residents - representing no more than 600 men, women and children - have petitioned the Town Board to create their own village, to be called Seven Springs.

The municipality would be part of the Town of Monroe, like the Village of Monroe and the Village of Harriman as well as the Village of Kiryas Joel (until it is absorbed into the Town of Palm Tree in January 2019). This means its residents would pay town taxes as well as taxes to the Monroe-Woodbury School District, contribute revenue through mortgage taxes and perhaps eventually assert political influence in local elections akin to the KJ bloc vote.

The new municipality would be contiguous to the Village of Kiryas Joel, the Town of Palm Tree, the Village of Monroe, the Village of Harriman; the Village of Woodbury, the Town of Blooming Grove and Village of South Blooming Grove.

Steven Barshov, the attorney for the petitioners said the formation of a new village would not affect the Monroe-Woodbury School District nor would residents of Seven Springs have any more “power to affect Town elections after the formation of a village than they do now.

“The people who have petitioned to form the Village of Seven Springs,” Barshov added, “ are no different than people elsewhere in New York who believe that a smaller geographic area governed as a village creates a local government system that would be most responsive to their local needs. The creation of a village would enable the people who live within its boundaries to plan the type of local community they would like. The Town of Monroe focuses on matters from a town-wide perspective, while villages, like the Village of Monroe, have a more local focus. The same would be true of the Village of Seven Springs.”

State law allows as few as 500 people to petition for the creation of a village. Children too young to vote can included in that 500 figure.

When does the clock start?Monroe Town Supervisor said nothing will advance on the petition until litigation is settled on the annexation of land from the unincorporated portion of the Town of Monroe into the Village of Kiryas Joel.

One is the 164 acres that both the Town of Monroe and the Village of Kiryas Joel agreed to, and which was subsequently included in the agreement that led to the creation of the Town of Palm. (The new town will hold elections in November and open for business beginning Jan. 1, 2019.

The other is the 507 acres bid made by Kiryas Joel but which the Monroe Town Board rejected.

Orange County and a consortium of towns and villages surrounding Kiryas Joel pooled their resources to oppose in court the annexation bids.

Brendan Coyne, the mayor of Cornwall-on-Hudson who has acted as spokesman for the group of municipalities, said this week consortium is still in court.

Similarly, Justin Rodriguez, the assistant to the County Executive Steven M. Neuhaus, said the county has not withdrawn from the litigation.

“When will act - I can’t tell you if it will three months, six months, nine months,” Cardone said.

Once that happens, the town will have up to 30 days to validate the petitions. If the petitions are approved, the town would then need to schedule a public hearing within 30 days.

ZoningThe Times Herald-Record reported this week that as many as 1,600 housing units could be built within the proposed village.

Cardone said town officials had an inkling something was in the works regarding the petitions, but that he was surprised by the timing, considering the annexation litigation.

He noted that Herman Wagschal, who delivered the petitions to Monroe Town Hall, told him “I am here as a friend ... to all people.”

Cardone said they discussed zoning, within the town, within Kiryas Joel, what could be possible under Village of Seven Springs regulations.

The supervisor also said he came away from the encounter wondering if the petitioners felt slighted that they had not been included in the Town of Palm Tree.

Meanwhile, Barshov said that what binds the people who signed the petition “is their common desire to join to create a village for their own self-governance. This is the most fundamental form of democracy that exists in our country. All people in New York, no matter their background, race or religion, have the right to organize collectively and decide to self-govern. That is what binds the petitioners.”

Reaction

The news of the proposed Village of Seven Springs was met with sharp criticism:
• “This is nothing but a revenge-fueled attempt to inflict harm on the people of Monroe and Orange County. I will fight every step of the way to stop this disgraceful, offensive proposal.
“The childish landowners who are pushing this new village ought to grow up. Their complete lack of regard for the broader community is shameful and their attempt to shove this manipulative proposal down people’s throats will be defeated.”
Assemblyman and State Senate Candidate James Skoufis (D-Woodbury)
• “As I said back in May, this plan is ludicrous and would undermine the hard work of many who have negotiated in good faith to help address the issues of overdevelopment in our area. Everyone must work to keep those agreements intact. I’m staunchly opposed to this new village and the creation of any new layers of government. More layers of government mean higher costs for taxpayers and land use that is potentially unsustainable. Another village would clearly not benefit our area. While it does appear, after reviewing the petition, that there are several defects with the filing that could mean it will not pass legal muster, the concept of new municipalities should be fought strenuously and constructively by both the public and existing government entities alike.”
Republican State Senate Candidate Tom Basile
• “United Monroe is opposed to the formation of a new religious village in the town of Monroe.
This village petition is the work of a small handful of wealthy land owners and developers who are not satisfied with the development profits they could generate under the Town of Monroe’s new comprehensive and zoning plan. A new village would control its own zoning, allowing these men to develop their properties with much higher residential building densities ... and resulting profits.
Doing an end around of town law to maximize financial gain rather than working with town government to reach smart solutions is not a proper or neighborly way for them to pursue their zoning dispute with the Monroe Town Board.”
Mike Egan, UM Executive Committee Member
• “The village creation process in New York is being abused, as evidenced by the recent petition to form a new village in the Town of Monroe. In the New York State Assembly I will work to change the village creation process to protect our communities. We need forward thinking ideas and action and that is the type of leadership I will bring to the state legislature.”
Colin Schmitt, Republican candidate for the 99th Assembly District
The Photo News asked Steven Barshov for his reaction to these reactions. He offered the following:
• To Assemblyman Skoufis: “It is hard to see how a group of people petitioning under New York law to form a new village is revenge against anyone or is harmful, offensive, or shameful, as Assemblyman Skoufis states. New York State affords all people the right to petition to form their own village and the petitioners are simply exercising the rights given to them by law.”
• To State Senate Candidate Basile: “As to overdevelopment, the formation of a new village does not predetermine density or type of development. It simply allows for local governance. Choices about how the new village would develop would be made by its elected governing body, after public hearings. To the extent that an additional layer of government might result in tax increases, those tax increases would be paid by villagers, not anyone else.”
• To United Monroe: “There is no zoning dispute with the Town Board of Monroe. None of the people who signed the petition to form the Village of Seven Springs sued the Town over its new zoning and comprehensive plan. If the Village of Seven Springs is formed, then its elected representatives would chart the course of the village’s future as to all matters within the control of village government, including public services, community development patterns, etc. Of course, that would include planning and zoning decisions, as the Village of Seven Springs would have the same powers as all villages.”