GUILDERLAND: Traditional Builders is proposing to construct 46 houses on a 106 acre lot in the western Pine Bush. 5This proposed site is on Lydius Street, adjacent to and west of the Dicaprio Farm (The Dicaprio Farm was acquired by the Town of Guilderland and made into soccer fields).

The houses will be built on 24 acres of land as a “clustered” development; the remaining land is proposed to be preserved in some manner yet to be determined. Some people say this is a good compromise, look at how generous the developer is, dedicating over 80 acres for preservation!

The problem with this proposal is this: every acre of Pine Bush lost to buildings and asphalt is another acre of Pine Bush where the ecosystem is destroyed. The Sierra Club has identified the Pine Bush as one of the 52 most important places to save in the United States (see page 3) – why are we even talking about a compromise?

It is extremely important to preserve all of the Woodsfield Estate site because it is part of the largest roadless area left in the Pine Bush. More than half of the site is not suitable for building because of the dunes, and steep ravines. The houses are proposed to be built on the “uplands”, the area with the best Pine Bush ecology.

Plans at the Harriman Office Campus include high-end housing. Why can’t the proposed Woodsfield Estate site be acquired by the state through a land trade? That way, this parcel of Pine Bush would be preserved and the houses would be built in a more central location.

Hearings and meetings will be held by the Town of Guilderland Planning Board. For updates about this project and meeting dates, go to http://www.savethepinebush.org

Published in the Oct/Nov 2007 Save the Pine Bush newsletter