Exciting News from the 9/20/21 Mt Pleasant Planning Board Meeting!

Last night, while establishing themselves as lead agency, the Mt Pleasant Planning Board voted unanimously to require a Full Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the proposed project adjacent to Pocantico Lake County Park. This means that the planning board will evaluate the potential significant adverse environmental impacts of this development, and the process will include public participation, including at a public hearing already scheduled for October 18th at 7:30 pm. (SAVE THE DATE!)

The Chairman of the planning board referenced the many letters and communication members of the board received from county residents who want to SAVE POCANTICO LAKE!

A big shout out to everyone throughout all of Westchester County who sent letters, educated others, and gathered and signed the SAVE POCANTICO LAKE petition asking for a FEIS.

That is more than 900 of you who helped!! You know who you are!! Great job!!

Join the fight to help SAVE POCANTICO LAKE!!

Click here to read what the Examiner had to say about the meeting

See All of Our Letters to the Examiner's Editor!

Concerned residents and Save Pocantico Lake supporters have been writing Letters to the Editor, demonstrating their passion about Pocantico Lake!

You can view all of the previous issues by clicking the links below.

July 20th Issue: https://www.theexaminernews.com/letter-to-the-editor-proposed-subdivision-at-pocantico-lake-park-would-degrade-a-county-jewel/

July 27th Issue: https://www.theexaminernews.com/letter-to-the-editor-officials-must-protect-county-park-from-development/

August 2nd Issue: https://www.theexaminernews.com/pocantico-lake-park-31-home-subdivision-would-be-a-mistake/

August 17th Issue: https://www.theexaminernews.com/mount-pleasant-must-protect-pocantico-lake-park-from-development/

August 30th Issue: https://www.theexaminernews.com/pocantico-lake-is-a-treasure-that-should-not-be-developed/

August 30th Cont: https://www.theexaminernews.com/pocantico-lake-development-is-a-resource-for-all-of-westchester-county/

August 30th Cont: https://www.theexaminernews.com/pocantico-lake-must-be-protected-from-development/

September 6th Issue: https://www.theexaminernews.com/protection-of-pocantico-lake-is-urgent-for-future-generations/

September 21st Issue: https://www.theexaminernews.com/excessive-development-is-threatening-to-ruin-nearly-everyones-quality-of-life/

September 28th Issue: https://www.theexaminernews.com/mt-pleasant-has-an-obligation-to-reject-31-homes-on-pocantico-lake/

The Examiner News editor Martin Wilbur covers Pocantico Lake

Martin Wilbur, the respected editor of The Examiner News and a fixture in Hudson Valley journalism, covered the proposed development – and the effort to protect the land and waters from environmental destruction – in The Examiner's first full article on the issue, dated August 24, 2021. Writes Wilbur,

"If the development is built, hundreds of trees would be cleared, not only destroying the view from around Pocantico Lake but habitats as well, [Mount Pleasant citizen and environmental defender Todd Shapera] said. It could also jeopardize the quality of the water in the lake, which is a tributary to the Hudson River and is a backup drinking water source after having served as New Rochelle’s main source of drinking water until the late 1970s."

- and -

"[T]he town’s Conservation Advisory Council Chairman Steven Kavee said . . . a key issue that will need to be addressed is the Critical Environmental Area. While the developers provided some separation between the houses and the lake, there is still the chance of fertilizers and chemicals washing off the lawns, he said, Therefore, the project merits a positive declaration."

The article quotes Kavee, “It does go to the possibility of significant adverse conditions, which would call for a deeper SEQRA Environmental Impact Statement."

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We agree! Pocantico Lake and its surrounded unspoilt lands are an irreplaceable treasure in a dense county that has already suffered heavy environmental burdens for more than a century and is adjacent to New York City. Rather than allow the development of this land, local government officials should protect it for the sake of future generations.