Lego opponents file lawsuit

BY ERIKA NORTON
GOSHEN — Opponents of the proposed Legoland New York theme park sued to stop the project on Monday, arguing that Goshen officials gave Legoland special treatment and approved changes to the town comprehensive plan and zoning laws without an adequate review of the project's impact.
Goshen attorney Michael Sussman filed the 62-page suit in state Supreme Court on behalf of the main Legoland opposition group Concerned Citizens for the Hudson Valley, as well as eight residents who live near or next to the proposed Legoland site off of Route 17 on Harriman Drive.
The lawsuit calls for the reversal of the changes to the Goshen Town Comprehensive Plan and the Town Zoning Law, as well as the Goshen Planning Board’s approvals of Legoland developer Merlin Entertainments’ site plan and permits to clear-cut 150 acres of forested land. The planning board approved the Legoland site plan last month, and Merlin later hosted a local celebration of the decision.
Goshen town attorney Richard Golden said the lawsuit is "replete with factual misrepresentations and thin legal bases. I am confident that this lawsuit, like the group’s previous lawsuit, will be dismissed by the court."
The lawsuitSussman details the project's approval process step-by-step, alleging that town officials illegally prejudged the project from the beginning. He claims that records obtained by a records request show substantial coordination in advance of the project application between Golden and Merlin representatives.
The review and approval process was then rushed, Sussman claims, with town and planning boards eventually approving the environmental review and site plan despite “obvious deficiencies” and strong public criticism.
“The Planning Board failed to take a hard look at the project and did not address numerous issues petitioners and their experts and representatives had identified since consideration of the project commenced,” the lawsuit states.
Sussman says the following were not properly reviewed by the planning board:
Did Merlin secure sufficient water resources?
What will be the impact on traffic, and how will the problem be addressed?
What are the development costs?
Will local housing and emergency resources accommodate the project?
The planning board also failed to adequately address the potential environmental and public health impacts from the theme park, according to Sussman, especially on those living in the nearby Arcadia Hills housing development.
Response to lawsuitIn response to the lawsuit, Legoland New York Development Director Phil Royle said Monday that the project’s 16-month review process has been “meticulously thorough, fully transparent and has taken place in public forums in a judicious timeframe.”
“We have responded to requests by Goshen’s Town Board and Planning Board, and addressed all public comment and questions,” Royle said. “During this detailed review process, we have made significant changes, which we are confident positively responds to all concerns and requests.
“Should the town’s decision on this project go before the Court, we are confident that the outcome will be a positive one.”
Golden said the project's environmental and other review was "more in-depth and far reaching than any other project in the history of Goshen."
"It studied all aspects of the environment, including endangered and threatened species, vegetation, geology, water, wastewater, air quality, noise, traffic, and visual impacts," he stated in an email to The Chronicle. "It also included project alternatives and a study of the cumulative impacts from other projects. The more than 16-month study involved 15 Planning Board meetings and 69 days of formal opportunity for public comment. The Final Environmental Impact Study responded in detail to more than 4,000 comments by the public and governmental agencies. In coordination with the State Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration a redesign of the traffic patterns was agreed upon, including a new bridge to be built over Route 17 to provide a more direct entrance to the project and far less traffic impact to the Village of Goshen than originally proposed. Other modifications to the project resulted from the Planning Board's review, including placing additional buffer areas around the project’s lands and the placing of 150 acres into a conservation easement where no development can occur. The project was a carefully and fully reviewed, complying with all regulatory requirements, and I am confident that the Court will recognize this and dismiss the lawsuit.”
To read the complete lawsuit, click here.