Residents, Florida mayor, object to campground proposal

Amid a large crowd that often clapped and cheered, the Warwick Town Planning Board, at their July 17 meeting, heard from residents who overwhelmingly objected to the proposed Serenity Ridge Campground at the former Black Bear Campground on Wheeler Road just outside the village of Florida.

Before opening the continuation of the public hearing for the Serenity Ridge campground, Vice Chairman Roger Showalter, who led the meeting in Chairman Ben Astorino’s absence, informed the audience that all interested speakers must sign in and that comments would be limited to two minutes. The latter restraint led to vocal outrage from several attendees who desired to hear more from James McAteer, a resident of Union Corners Road, who took to the podium to share his concerns with the project.

McAteer referred to the Warwick Town Code and claimed that it was written before Park Model Recreational Vehicles — the units to be parked at the proposed campground — existed and that these models are essentially no different than mobile homes. He also shared that he reviewed the background check policy at the company’s campground in Cape May, New Jersey, that the owners of Serenity Ridge also operate and claimed that these checks cover only an applicant’s credit history.

McAteer began to speak about the potential size of the Park Model RVs, suggesting that owners may be able to circumvent the size requirements, when Showalter informed him that he had exceeded his time.

Many attendees applauded and cried out, “Let him continue,” when McAteer asked for more time to speak, and one member responded to Showalter’s insistence on the time limit by saying the gentleman was “pointing out important facts.” Other members of the audience offered to yield their speaking time to McAteer, however this was not permitted by the board.

Showalter acknowledged that McAteer had more comments to share and encouraged him to submit them to the planning board secretary.

Daniel Harter of Harter Road shared his worry that the campground would lead to a tax increase due to the expanded police and fire services required to serve the property and wondered who would enforce the code. After Harter finished speaking, Showalter clarified that the building department would be responsible for code enforcement and annual permits for the RVs.

Daniel Harter Jr., the mayor of Florida, also issued a call out on social media ahead of the meeting asking for concerned residents to come out and voice their opinions on the proposal. “This potential conversion from a campground to a high-density rental housing project is concerning to the village board and most if not all of us will be attending this meeting,” he said via Facebook. “We want clarification and a better understanding of what they are intending with this project. This borders the Village of Florida and as residents I want to make you all aware of this.”

Another resident spoke about the possibility of the school district having to educate children residing at the campground [Editor’s note: the property resides in the Florida school district, per county parcel records]. Although the applicant explained that children were prohibited from attending local schools, the resident claimed there is a federal law that allows those who have lost a primary residence to claim homelessness and could potentially use the campground as their main address, requiring any children residing there to be educated by the district. The resident wondered if the campground owners had a plan in place to address this possible scenario.

Some residents addressed the potential environmental impact of the campground, while others worried about the lack of privacy and protection of neighboring properties. Several voiced concern that it would become a seasonal community for out of towners and shared their worry that, without proper regulation, the campground could morph into a semi-permanent or even permanent residence for users of the RVs.

Because the owners and representatives of Serenity Ridge were asked to submit additional information on the environmental impact of their project, the board did not decide on the application and approved the continuation of the public hearing on Aug 21.

Other business

During the meeting, the board reviewed applications for a nursery school on Clinton Ave. Ext., a retail cannabis dispensary to be called “A Classy Joint” on Ronald Reagan Boulevard, a solar installation on Chancellor Lane, and a three-lot subdivision on Cascade Road.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to include Mayor Harter’s public statement and that the property lies in the Florida school district instead of the Warwick school district.