Developer of proposed home on Round Lake must respond to environmental issues

MONROE - The Monroe Town Board has accepted the scoping document for the Open Development Plan, which cites potentially significant environmental impacts, on an application by a developer to build a single-family home on Round Lake Island, a site, that has no direct access as required by law. The town’s board decision Monday night puts the ball in the developer John Sorrentino’s court. He is now obligated to respond to a Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Sorrentino has to address the many issues raised by the town in the Scoping Document. There is no time frame involved. Once completed the public will be able to comment again. The issues raised in the scoping document for the proposed development include a significant impact to vegetation, wildlife, topography and soil, groundwater and surface water quality, traffic, aesthetic/visual resources and cumulative and secondary impacts. While traffic is not an issue, the construction of a bridge would be, according to planner Susan Roth who queried how emergency vehicle’s would get to the site and the impact to the waters from de-icing during the winter. The developer wants to build a single-family house via a driveway/bridge connecting Round Lake Island to the mainland. The driveway would travel along a vacant parcel of land before connecting to Interlochen Parkway. Because Round Lake is part of a watershed, what will happen downstream must be addressed, said Roth. Other issues include what vegetation and wildlife might be disturbed, and the visual change to the watershed from the public viewpoint, before construction, immediately after and a five-years after construction. The town’s attorney Langdon Chapman said the process if 30-40 percent done.