Your Award-Winning News Source for the Upper Delaware River Valley Region Since 1975
Vol. 42 No. 25
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JUNE 23-29, 2016
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www.riverreporter.com
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$1.50
Tusten camping law still being re-worked Public hearing raises more questions By ISABEL BRAVERMAN
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ARROWSBURG, NY — A public hearing was held at the Tusten town meeting on the new camping zoning law. Citizens turned out to voice their concern over the law, saying it doesn’t go far enough, while one person said it goes too far. The purpose of Camping Local Law #1 is to regulate campgrounds and campsites as well as the use and storage of recreational vehicles (RVs). It address five areas: campsite non-commercial, campsite travel trailer/camper commercial, campsite tent commercial, campground or recreational vehicle park and travel trailer. One of the reasons this law came about is because residents of Perry Pond Road complained that there are abandoned RVs on vacant lots. They were at the public hearing and continued to raise questions. Someone said that it used to be RVs needed a permit and must be removed after a certain time. Now, they said, people are making a “country get-away” by leaving an RV on vacant land and only paying taxes on the land, not any kind of structure or house. The board pointed out that in the law it states an RV would need a permit. Someone would get two permits per year, each lasting 45 days (in section 6.2.3). One resident, Lance Brodmerkel, who lives outside of town “in the country,” said he has lived here his
entire life, and has always had an RV on his property next to his house. He said he doesn’t see what the issue is; “If it bothers you, don’t look at it,” he said. More questions arose about the law. People wondered how these laws would be enforced, many saying that people aren’t going to follow the rules and no one is going to do anything about it. They asked the board if they (the board) would be the ones to hold people accountable, but the board said it would be up to the police. To that, one audience member responded that the police aren’t going to do anything, “They aren’t going to answer a call at 2 a.m. about a party on a campsite.” As more and more questions arose, Councilman Tony Ritter wondered, “Does it create more problems than it solves? We should create policy that answers questions and doesn’t open a can of worms.” Supervisor Carol Wingert wanted to make the point that the zoning re-write committee put a lot of work into creating this law. They will take the public’s comments into consideration and continue working on it. Commercial solar in Tusten? Not so fast—there’s a moratorium At a previous town meeting Councilman Ned Lang asked the board if Delaware River Solar could make a presentation about its commercial solar projects in the area. Two representatives came to Continued on page 4
TRR photo by Scott Rando
Explore a treasure trove of life at the BioBlitz
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USTEN, NY — This Delaware skipper, which was spotted during the 2014 Upper Delaware BioBlitz at Ten Mile River, is a rare find for Sullivan County. Skippers are known for their fast “skipping” flight. BioBlitzes are events at which scientists and other volunteers gather to collect, identify, and catalogue every living thing on a demar-
FOOD: Taking sides
CURRENTS: Musical Milford
Turn side dishes into centerpieces
A town-wide music fest
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cated property in a 24-hour period, with the results made available to the public following the collection period, along with various workshops and talks. The 2016 Upper Delaware BioBlitz will return to the Ten Mile River site this weekend; for more information see pages 23 and 32.
SPANNING 2 STATES, 4 COUNTIES, AND A RIVER THAT UNITES US
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