“Patrick Farm homes ripped at hearing”
As reported this Tuesday in the Journal News, “Scores gathered at a public hearing before the Ramapo Planning Board on Monday (11/29), urging board members to reject a proposed 500-unit housing development on the 208-acre Patrick Farm site that borders the Village of Pomona.” In the end, after hours of testimony that went past 1:00 am in the morning, the scores of untied citizens from Ramapo and neighboring communities were able to convince the Planning Board to accept further written testimony and postpone its decision to at least December 21st.
- Who were the people who spoke out?
- Do they have a relevant and meaningful message or is it the same old story of saying “no” without any real scientific or legal rationale?
- Isn’t Patrick Farm a ‘done deal’?
- Didn’t I hear there is no way to stop this development project?
Who were these people who spoke out?
Some faces and the issues they testified about on Monday may be familiar, yet it is a whole new day for Ramapo. Gathered together to stand with one voice was an organized group that focused on legal, social, and environmental issues with the help of experts in zoning law, hydrology (water), historic preservation, transportation, and ecosystem protection.
We are ROSA (Ramapo Organized for Sustainability and a Safe Aquifer). We are your neighbors, growing in number, from areas within Ramapo Township and beyond (inclusive of Tuxedo, Nyack, Haverstraw, Mahwah and Ramsey).
Do they have an original message or is it the same old story?
ROSA values the quality of life, natural beauty, and character of the Town of Ramapo. We are concerned because the Town’s last remaining open space and a primary source of drinking water is being threatened by a proposed massive, high density, multi-family housing project that sits atop a protected aquifer. Building over this natural resource would endanger our limited water supply. This particular aquifer provides vital water to a region so vast that it crosses state lines.
ROSA is NOT anti-development. However, the Town of Ramapo has not done the necessary due diligence for a project of this magnitude. We insist, because the law allows for it, that the Town hire at the expense of the Patrick Farm developer, impartial and professional experts to evaluate this proposal. This must be done to ensure that studies and scientific evidence regarding the potential for permanent change to our community character and permanent environmental damage be unequivocally correct before this massive development is constructed on top of a wetlands and an enormous aquifer . ROSA will engage independent experts to evaluate the Patrick Farm where appropriate.
Isn’t Patrick Farm a ‘done deal’?
Absolutely NOT. That’s why we have formed.
ROSA is just a few weeks old. Though other groups and individuals have, and will continue to voice concerns about the ill-conceived Patrick Farm development, we organized around this issue because it tops our list of concerns facing an already crowded and environmentally sensitive area that faces serious issues surrounding traffic, population density, water safety and water quality.
Didn’t I hear there is no way to stop this development project?
Together, we have the ability to stop the development of Patrick Farm as currently proposed before Ramapo’s Planning Board. Our next opportunity is December 21st.
The key to successfully protecting our water and open spaces is to be educated and to carefully explain our goals while being honest brokers of information There is little room for emotion, ignorance, or innuendo. We appeal to your sense of community. Our opposition to this development is about the sustainability and safety of our water and community character, and not about opposing anybody’s right to live where they want to live. With your donations of time and money we will succeed. But we must move quickly.
Together, we can protect our water. Join ROSA and let your voice be heard,