Monroe town supervisor rejects petition to form village of Seven Springs

MONROE - Town Supervisor Tony Cardone has rejected a petition to form a new village, Seven Springs.

The proposed village would occupy about 1.9 square miles in the north end of town and include about 600 residents.

The petitioners for the village were seeking to improve services in what they said was a neglected part of town, and gain control over zoning there. To date, no referendum on the proposal has been held.

The proposal to form the village was filed in 2018 and has been the subject of court battles since then.

Why the petition was rejected

Cardone, in a statement released Monday, said he had sent a letter to those backing the village, saying their petition did not comply with the requirements of New York State Village Law.

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Cardone said that law requires submitting a description of the territory to be included in the proposed village. Cardone said the petitioners' document was not sufficient to comply with the law, as it did not include a metes and bounds description.

Instead, Cardone said, it relied primarily on tax lot lines. The description of the proposed village boundaries relied on certain tax lot numbers that do not exist in the town of Monroe, which prevented the town from determining the extent and location of the proposed village, Cardone said.

What happens next

Herman Wagschal, the Monroe resident who led the Seven Springs drive, declined to comment on Cardone's decision.

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However, his attorney, Steven Barshov, said, "We do not believe the rejection was lawful."

Barshov said they plan to appeal the decision in state Supreme Court. The specific premise of that appeal has yet to be determined, he said.

Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record, Poughkeepsie Journal and The Journal News/lohud. Reach him at mrandall@th-record.com or on Twitter @mikerandall845.

This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Supervisor rejects petition to form village of Seven Springs