UPDATE: Town of Mohawk Terminates Review of Farmland Annexation Project
Santabarbara, local residents, environmental groups applaud decision: Proposal would have stripped 260 acres of mostly prime farmland from the Town of Mohawk for industrial use
Assemblyman Santabarbara, Montgomery County Environmental Groups: Citizens Against Local Landfills (C.A.L.L.) and Saving Town of Mohawk (Saving T.O.M), and more than 1,500 Montgomery County residents signed a petition in opposition to the project and this was the news they had been hoping for! This follows a strong push in opposition by Assemblyman Santabarbara who called for a halt on the annexation project that would have stripped 260 acres of mostly prime farmland from the Town of Mohawk for industrial use. In 2019, Santabarbara, Assembly Chair of the Legislative Commission on Rural Resources introduced legislation to put a moratorium on such projects to protect farmland in local communities.
The Town of Mohawk, with passage of Resolution #021/2020 made a decision to terminate its review of the proposed Regional Business Park Property Annexation and State Environmental Quality Review Act review of the draft environmental impact statement. Additionally, the Town made the determination to deny the Regional Business Park Property Annexation petition at this time. FULL TEXT OF RESOLUTION CAN BE FOUND HERE: http://townofmohawkny.com.Minutes-05May-2020.pdf
This is AMAZING news and a HUGE win for our community! was written on a Saving T.O.M. Facebook post. After many, many, many years of living under the threat of the possibility of 260 acres of farmland being turned into a manufacturing site along the northern border with Fulton County.
In a letter from Santabarbara and Citizens Against Local Landfills, they stated, We support rejection of these annexation plans. The fact is, both Fulton and Montgomery County currently have hundreds of acres of undeveloped Industrial Park land and this proposal would add to that number.
The right decision is to SAY NO to annexation proposals like this and say no to more empty industrial parks, said Assemblyman Santabarbara.
This annexation is in direct conflict with the Town of Mohawk 2015 comprehensive plan, said Tony Bruno, Town Board Member of the Town of Mohawk.
This annexation is not a need but a want and this annexation is a symbol of greed not growth, said Cara Bruno, Town of Mohawk resident and founding member of Saving TOM that has garnered the support of more than 1,500 Montgomery County residents.