Henderson Town Board approves planned development district for Hovey Island

Jonathon Wheeler, Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
·2 min read

Dec. 28—HENDERSON — The Town Board officially approved the planned development district for Hovey Island on Thursday night during its end-of-the-year meeting, paving the way for a multi-million dollar project by Sun Communities to take shape.

The final vote was 4-1 with board member Matthew T. Owen casting the lone no vote.

Sun Communities plans to build a maximum of 117 seasonal cabins/cottages where all lots will be at least 5,000 square feet.

Sun currently owns and operates an RV campground on nearby Association Island, but no RVs will be allowed to camp on Hovey Island.

Town Supervisor Edwin D. Glaser said adding these homes to the tax roll will be good for the town.

"The land itself is still going to be owned by Sun Communities so that's going to be a taxable entity," he said.

Businesses will also benefit from having more people in the area in the summer, Glaser said.

"To put up a community like that, and they're going to be here 6 months out of the year, it's a seasonal community, and get the tax benefits off of that, I think it'd be very beneficial," he said.

Owen said he voted against it because there was no public hearing on the final local law.

The town board did have a public hearing open from Sept. 27 until the Nov. 28 meeting, but Owen says he believes that the public should have commented on the final form of the resolution.

A major concern among residents was the traffic along Snowshoe Road — the road people will take to get to Hovey Island.

A traffic study was done by Colliers Engineering and Design, Albany, which was hired by Sun Communities.

Town engineer Patrick J. Scordo said there are 901 vehicles a day traveling on Snowshoe Road. The Hovey Island development would result in an additional 479 vehicles per day on a peak day, according to the traffic study.

The capacity for Snowshoe Road is 1,490 vehicles in a peak hour per lane. The peak per lane with the Hovey Island development is 99 vehicles in one hour, which is 6.6% of the capacity, Scordo said.

It could take around a year or so to get infrastructure put in place on the island, Glaser said.

He said he anticipates Sun Communities will put some homes on the island so they are ready to sell,then start filling in more homes as needed.

The board also approved the road maintenance agreement with Sun Communities by the same 4-1 vote.