845-583-4350 Ext 15
845-583-4710 (F)
Town of Bethel
Planning Board
PO Box 300, 3454 Route 55
White Lake, NY 12786
The Town of Bethel Planning Board held a Work Session on September 17, 2013 at 7 PM at the Dr.
Duggan Community Center, 3460 State Route 55, White Lake. A regular meeting of the Planning Board
followed on the same date at 7:30 PM. On the agenda at this time was the following:
In attendance: Daniel Gettel, Chairman, Steve Simpson, Vice Chairman, Susan Brown Otto, Michael
Cassaro, David Biren, David Slater, Walter Norris, Alternate, Daniel Sturm, Supervisor, Victoria
Vassmer-Simpson, Councilwoman, Lillian Hendrickson, Councilwoman, Jacqueline Ricianni, Attorney,
BJ Gettel, Code Enforcement Officer, and Jannetta MacArthur, Recording Secretary
Absent Wilfred Hughson
Walter Norris seated as alternate.
Lottie Oestrich – Student Monticello CSD
Pledge to the flag
Motion to approve minutes from the August 13, 2013 meeting by Steve Simpson, second by David
Slater
All in favor - 7
Opposed - 0
Agreed and carried
1) Public Hearing for a Special Use Permit and Site Plan Approval for Boat Storage and Repair
Shop to be located at 1063 State Route 17B, Mongaup Valley, known as Bethel Tax Map #:
38-2-89, proposed by John Payne.
Applicant indicated proof of mailing receipts will be submitted to BJ tomorrow, September 18, 2013.
Motion to go into public hearing by Susan Brown Otto, second by Steve Simpson
All in favor – 7
Opposed - 0
Agreed and carried
John Payne: On 1063 State Route 17B, we have a 68 acre parcel with two buildings, two garages
located somewhat close to the road. Directly behind the garages, there is an existing parking area, and
an existing roadway that leads to the parking area. Then further down from the buildings there is a
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Town of Bethel
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PO Box 300, 3454 Route 55
White Lake, NY 12786
second driveway into the parcel, which leads to the proposed storage area. If you go in the main
entrance, in front of the first building, there is another driveway, a roadway if you will. We have just
graveled that half way up with #4 stone, about 500 feet of it, up the main road. That also leads to the
proposed storage area. Everything is preexisting. We have a driveway coming in which had been
previously graveled, we graveled over it. The parking area behind the building has also been graveled
so that it is ready to go. Any questions?
Daniel Gettel: If anyone has a question, please raise your hand.
Roseanne Oestrich: I am just curious, the storage area, how visible is that from the road?
Daniel Gettel: You will not see the boats from the road and there will be a condition in the approval that
will insure that you will not see the boats from the road.
Daniel Gettel: Are there any other questions?
None.
Motion to close this public hearing and go back to our regular meeting by Michael Cassaro, second
by David Biren
All in favor - 7
Opposed - 0
Agreed and carried
Daniel Gettel: For the record, the County 239 came back local determination. I believe their only
comment was that it is nice to see a business occupy an existing building that has been vacant for so
many years. The state was given more than 30 days to respond, we have not heard back from them, so
that is pretty much a wash.
Motion to receive and file the County 239 review by Steve Simpson, second by Susan Brown Otto
All in favor - 7
Opposed - 0
Agreed and carried
Daniel Gettel: This is an existing site as John said. All of the buildings exist. All of the driveways
exist. All of the roadways existed before he bought the property. I do think we should run through the
EAF at this time. It is a short form, an unlisted action. The short form has been on file with the Town
for over 30 days, so I will not run through Part I. Part I describes what the project is, and John pretty
much just touched on that. I will only read through Part II, which is our part.
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845-583-4350 Ext 15
845-583-4710 (F)
Town of Bethel
Planning Board
PO Box 300, 3454 Route 55
White Lake, NY 12786
PART II
A. Does action exceed any Type I threshold in 6 NYCRR, PART 617.4? No.
B. Will action receive coordinated review as provided for unlisted actions in 6 NYCRR, Part
617.6? No.
C. Could action result in any adverse effects associated with the following:
C1. Existing air quality, surface or groundwater quality or quantity, noise levels, existing
traffic pattern, solid waste production or disposal, potential for erosion, drainage or flooding
problems? None, no disturbance.
C2. Aesthetic, agricultural, archaeological, historic, or other natural or cultural resources; or
community or neighborhood character? None, existing.
C3. Vegetation or fauna, fish, shellfish or wildlife species, significant habitats, or threatened
or endangered species? No.
C4. A community’s existing plans or goals as officially adopted, or a change in use or
intensity of use of land or other natural resources? No significant change.
C5. Growth, subsequent development, or related activities likely to be induced by the
proposed action? No construction, no future development.
C6. Long term, short term, cumulative, or other effects not identified in C1-C5? None.
C7. Other impacts? There are none.
D. Will the project have an impact on the environmental characteristics that caused the
establishment of a critical environmental area? No.
E. Is there, or is there likely to be, controversy related to potential adverse environmental
impacts? No.
Daniel Gettel: We have checked no on all of them. Any comments from the board?
None.
Motion to grant this application a negative declaration by Steve Simpson, second by Mike Cassaro
All in favor – 7
Opposed - 0
Agreed and carried
Daniel Gettel: Jacy, for the record, we did discuss the gateway requirements at the last meeting. Those
requirements are really for new construction, not for existing buildings. The Gateway design standard
pretty much talks about the location of new buildings, but this is an existing site. We also discussed the
landscaping at the last meeting. I don’t know how the board feels about that. The site is very limited as
far as where you can put landscaping.
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845-583-4350 Ext 15
845-583-4710 (F)
Town of Bethel
Planning Board
PO Box 300, 3454 Route 55
White Lake, NY 12786
Susan Brown Otto: I would prefer landscaping to try to beautify things even though there may be some
natural landscaping there. I would like to see some effort to have some pots, plants, to make it look a
little special.
Daniel Gettel: John, at the last meeting we talked about maybe a planting on the side of the building by
your main entrance. Not in a place that would block the site distance, but maybe in that general area. Is
that something you would be opposed to?
John Payne: I can do that.
Daniel Gettel: Can we leave it up to BJ’s discretion? It would be in the spring obviously.
Susan Brown Otto: What about the sign?
Daniel Gettel: The sign we do have a proposal for. BJ, if you would please pass it around. Mike
(Cassaro), I would like your comments on the sign, as I know that you looked at it.
Mike Cassaro: When I visited the site, we measured out the wall. We measured it on the picture as well
as in person, and then we superimposed John’s logo as to what it would look like. It is really right on
the money proportion wise. This is an 8 foot x 12 foot. There will be 2 - 8 x12’s, one on either side of
the building. It can be done either of two ways. It is up to John which way he would like to do it. It can
be done with 3- 4 foot panels that are butted together of aluminum or it could be stretched over a frame.
It would serve him well to have one on each side of the building.
Daniel Gettel: In your opinion the 8 foot x 12 foot size would be a good size?
Mike Cassaro: It would be a good size because aesthetically when you look at this, if you go any
smaller than that it is going to get lost and then it would be a waste.
Daniel Gettel: John, are you okay with that size?
John Payne: I am.
Daniel Gettel: As far as the construction, will it hold up during the winter? I know John is not going to
be here during the winter.
Mike Cassaro: Yes, as long as he uses the proper framing for it, which we discussed. He was in
agreement. His building is located on the state (right of way) line.
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845-583-4350 Ext 15
845-583-4710 (F)
Town of Bethel
Planning Board
PO Box 300, 3454 Route 55
White Lake, NY 12786
Susan Brown Otto: Just for the record, you may or not be aware of the opportunities to beautify your
property with regard to Renaissance, the Renaissance project. The BLDC and their signage project.
People apply for that. It is for signage.
Daniel Gettel: That was a one time program, I think it ran out. I don’t know if it will come back or not.
Dan Sturm: There is an attempt to redo it for next year if everything works out well. It was for
landscaping and signs.
Daniel Gettel: I believe it was matching funds, something you may want to look into.
John Payne: I just missed that, I didn’t apply in time.
Daniel Gettel: For Commercial and Special Uses I must read through certain sections of the Zoning
Code. Section 345-21 of the Town of Bethel Town Code addresses General Commercial and Industrial
Standards in connection with Special Use Permits. The paragraphs that pertain to this type of project
read as follows:
Where a commercial or manufacturing use is contiguous to an existing residential use in any district
(including those situated on the opposite side of a highway) or any approved residential lot in an RS
District, the Planning Board may require that the minimum front, side and rear yards be increased
by up to 50%. The board may also require, for purposes of separating incompatible activities or
shielding the residence from negative impacts, that a buffer consisting of a solid fence of wood
and/or a twenty-foot wide dense evergreen planting not less than six feet high be maintained, unless
the properties are in the same ownership or the full width of the yard is already wooded. See also
§345-16.
All buildings, parking areas and driveways presently exist on this parcel. The open field along
the rear of the existing compound shall be grubbed and mowed. These improvements are
presently shielded from view from the one adjoining residential use by an existing mature buffer
zone that is to be maintained.
F(1) All lighting shall be designed so as to avoid unnecessary or unsafe spillover of light and glare
onto operators of motor vehicles, pedestrians and land uses in proximity to the light source.
The applicant has indicated that all lighting shall be residential in nature and no lighting shall be
permitted to spill over onto adjoining highways or residential uses.
F(2) No direct or sky-reflected glare, whether from floodlights or from high temperature processes
such as combustion or welding or other sources, so as to be visible at the property line on a regular
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Town of Bethel
Planning Board
PO Box 300, 3454 Route 55
White Lake, NY 12786
or continuing basis, shall be permitted.
There shall be no direct or reflected glare from floodlights. If any welding occurs on the
property it shall be sporadic in nature and shall not occur on a continuing basis.
J. Whenever a vehicle and equipment sales and repair, mechanical or body repair use is proposed
as a special use, or as an expansion of an existing nonconforming use, the following additional
performance standards shall apply.
 All mechanical and body repair work, except for incidental repairs, shall be performed within
buildings.

All automobile or vehicle parts, new or used, shall be stored within buildings.
 Vehicles [boats] which are temporarily on the property waiting to be repaired shall be stored
in an area which meets the minimum yard and buffer requirements applicable for the district and
the use.
These standards apply.
Section 345-30 paragraphs (I) and (J) pertain to the Special Use Permit for the project.
paragraphs read as follows:
These
I (1) Building design, lighting, location and signs insofar as suitability for the use intended and
impact on and compatibility with the natural and man-made surroundings.
The buildings on the property exist and no new construction has been proposed. Site lighting
shall be minimal and can be considered residential in nature. Site restrictions limit the placement
of free standing signs, and the applicant has demonstrated that building mounted signage will be
used in this instance.
I (2) Storm drainage, flooding and erosion and sedimentation control.
The improvements along the front of this parcel exist and no site disturbances have been
proposed that would drastically alter drainage flows or increase the risk for flooding, erosion or
sedimentation in that area. The rear field also exists and the disturbance in that area shall be
limited to grubbing and mowing of the underbrush and minor removal of second growth trees.
I (3) Adequacy of community services and utilities, including police protection, emergency services
and the educational system.
Web page: www.town.bethel.ny.us
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845-583-4350 Ext 15
845-583-4710 (F)
Town of Bethel
Planning Board
PO Box 300, 3454 Route 55
White Lake, NY 12786
This proposal is for the relocation of a business from one part of town to another. There shall be
no additional impacts on community services associated with this relocation.
I (4) Environmental impacts in any form.
This application has been subjected to a Short Environmental Assessment and a Negative
Declaration has been issued.
I (5) Impacts on housing availability.
The project will have no impact on the availability of housing.
I (6) The potential for nuisance impacts such as noise, odors, vibrations or glare.
It is not anticipated that there will be nuisance impacts from the project. This is a commercial
area, and any noises associated with the operation of this facility are anticipated to happen
primarily during normal business hours. There will be no impacts such as odors or vibration.
Site lighting, again, shall be residential in nature with no glare being permitted on adjoining uses.
I (7) The adequacy of the trees, shrubs and other landscaping to buffer or soften a use in terms of
visual or other impacts on adjoining property owners, Town residents and those visitors on
whom the local economy often depends.
The vast majority of this site is wooded and all existing buffer zones shall be maintained.
I (8) Impacts on nearby property values.
It is not anticipated that this project will have a negative impact on nearby property values as the
buildings have existed for years in a state of neglect, and are now proposed to be better
maintained.
I (9) Traffic impacts (see §345-22H).
This is the relocation of a business from one area in town to another, on the same street. The
relocation of the business to this site will not have an impact on the amount of traffic on the
adjoining street.
I (10) Any other factors which reasonably relate to the health, safety and general welfare of present
or future residents of the Town of Bethel.
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Town of Bethel
Planning Board
PO Box 300, 3454 Route 55
White Lake, NY 12786
This business fills a need and benefits the residents of the Town of Bethel.
J (1) Whether the proposed use will result in an overconcentration of such uses in a particular area
of the Town or is needed to address a deficiency of such uses.
There is a need for this type of business in the Town of Bethel. This approval will not result in an
overconcentration of such uses, but involves the relocation of an existing use.
J (2) Whether the proposed use will have a detrimental or positive impact on adjacent properties or
the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the Town of Bethel.
It is anticipated that the use will have a positive impact on adjacent properties as the existing
buildings have sat vacant and unmaintained in excess of thirty years.
J (3) If the proposed use is one judged to present detrimental impacts, whether an approval could be
conditioned in such a manner as to eliminate or substantially reduce those impacts.
The proposed use is permitted in the zoning district and there are no anticipated detrimental
impacts.
J (4) Whether the use will have a positive or negative effect on the environment, job creation, the
economy, housing availability or open space preservation.
The project has been subjected to an environmental assessment, and was granted a negative
declaration. It is anticipated that the use will have a positive effect on the economy by
maintaining jobs. The project will not have an impact on housing. This is an existing facility
which has stood vacant for a number of years so the use of an existing structure over the
construction of a completely new facility would help to maintain open space.
J (5) Whether the granting of an approval will cause an economic burden on community facilities or
services, including but not limited to highways, sewage treatment facilities, water supplies and firefighting capabilities.
It is not anticipated that the project will result in an economic burden being placed on the
community or its resources as this is the relocation of an existing building from one area of town
to another.
J (6) Whether the site plan indicates the property will be developed and improved in a way which is
consistent with that character which this chapter and the Comprehensive Plan are intended to
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Town of Bethel
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PO Box 300, 3454 Route 55
White Lake, NY 12786
produce or protect, including appropriate landscaping and attention to aesthetics and natural
feature preservation.
The Comprehensive Plan contemplates that this zone will be developed with commercial uses
and this use is permitted as a special use. This project will utilize the existing buildings which
most likely stood on this parcel at the time the Comprehensive Plan was originally being
developed. Aesthetically the site will not be substantially altered, but this board has determined
that the site does not lend itself to elaborate plantings or landscaping. The applicant has
indicated that he will provide a number of planters at the entrance to the building.
This is the end of the Special Use section of the Code. At our last meeting we did discuss the fact that
special use would be approved with conditions. John, at the last meeting we did discuss what some of
the conditions would be. I don’t know if you have an objection to them. If you have an issue, let me
know. If a Special Use permit is granted the conditions will be:

Site lighting shall be limited to residential style building mounted lighting for security and safety
purposes only. No lights shall be installed that would allow for any glare onto adjoining
properties or the adjoining roadway. There shall be no lighting of the fields on top of the hill.

No boats, trailers, jet skis, or the like shall be parked long term within one hundred feet (100’) of
the centerline of NYS Route 17B. Long term shall be considered to be three days or longer.

The parking area immediately behind the building shall be limited to the maximum capacity of
twenty (20) vehicles as indicated on the site plan. One vehicle shall be one car, one boat on a
trailer, one empty trailer, one Jet Ski, etc.

Per Section 345-21 (J) all service and body repair work, except for incidental repairs, shall be
performed within a building. All parts, new, used, or incidental to the proposed use, including
shrink wrap, shall be stored within a building. Vehicles, including boats and the like, which are
on the property waiting to be repaired shall be stored in the parking area immediately behind the
buildings as designated on the Site Plan.

The preparation for, or removal from storage, of boats is intended to either take place inside one
of the existing buildings or on top of the hill in the vicinity of the open field, not in the parking
lot immediately adjoining the roadway.

The number (2) and sizes (8 foot x 12 foot) of signs shall be limited to those indicated as part of
this submission and as approved as part of this application. Signs printed on shrink-wrapped
boats, or the like, shall not be permitted.
Web page: www.town.bethel.ny.us
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845-583-4350 Ext 15
845-583-4710 (F)
Town of Bethel
Planning Board
PO Box 300, 3454 Route 55
White Lake, NY 12786

This application is for a Service Use permit to allow for the repair, service, and storage of boats,
not for boat sales. In the event that the applicant decides to add boat sales to this site as a
primary, secondary or incidental use it is understood that this Special Use permit would have to
be amended or a separate Special Use permit is obtained. This is not to say that the applicant
cannot sell an occasional boat on this property, but the parking and signage restrictions would
still have to be met.

The existing natural buffer zones between the proposed use and all adjoining properties shall be
maintained. In the event that the natural buffer zone between the boat storage area and NYS
Route 17B is found to be inadequate in shielding the stored boats, trailers, jet skis, etc. from view
of Route 17B by the Town of Bethel Code Enforcement Officer the applicant shall be
responsible for rectifying the situation, to the satisfaction of the Code Enforcement Officer,
within thirty days of being notified of the situation.

That all fees be paid to the Town of Bethel.

That the Special Use Permit shall not be considered valid until such time as both parties, the
Town of Bethel Planning Board and the Applicant, sign off on the Special Use Permit
Resolution, to be filed with the Town of Bethel.
Are there any comments from the board?
None.
Motion to grant application a Special Use permit with a Site Plan review with the conditions listed
previously by Steve Simpson, second by Susan Brown Otto
Roll call vote
Mike Cassaro Y
Walter Norris Y
All in favor – 7
Susan Brown Otto Y
David Slater Y
Steve Simpson Y
Daniel Gettel Y
Opposed - 0
David Biren Y
Agreed and carried
Agreed and carried
Web page: www.town.bethel.ny.us
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845-583-4350 Ext 15
845-583-4710 (F)
Town of Bethel
Planning Board
PO Box 300, 3454 Route 55
White Lake, NY 12786
2) Conceptual application for a Temporary Campground to be located on Best Road for specific
dates of May 22 – 27, 2014, known as Bethel Tax Map #: 16-1-39, 22-1-1, 22-1-4, 22-1-21, and
22-1-22, proposed by Bethel Woods Center for the Arts and ID&T/SFX Mysteryland, LLC.
Daniel Gettel: This is more of a presentation to the Planning Board. Some of the Planning Board
members, myself and Michael (Cassaro) included has seen this application. The majority of the board
has not. I have asked Glenn Smith to be the Planning Board Engineer on this project. We will take a
brief recess (to reorganize the room layout).
Recess 7:55 pm.
Return from recess 8:05 pm.
Laura Jacobsen: Good evening, my name is Laura Jacobsen, and I am the project manager for this
project. I am here tonight with my colleagues Brian Tamke; he is also a project manager for this project,
Eric Frances; he is the CEO of our company, and Andrew is the medical director for SFX. Mysteryland
is the longest running music and cultural festival. In 1993 we had the first edition in Holland. This
year, in August, we had our 20th anniversary of Mysteryland. In 2011 we had our first international
edition in Santiago, Chile. Mysteryland is a festival. It is more than music. We have performances,
Arts, workshops, a spiritual area, we have food and beverages, poets and a lot more. We would like to
say that Mysteryland is the five star festival experience. As mentioned, it is a lot more than just music.
What we would like to do here next year is we want to have Mysteryland on Memorial Day weekend. It
is going to be the 23rd to the 26th of May. We are aiming for 20,000 visitors. We are aiming for 7,500
camping visitors and 12,500 visitors per day. This will be on Saturday and on Sunday. We would like
to open the camping on Friday in the morning and we would like to close the camping on Monday in the
evening, around 5 pm. We have been considering opening the camping on Thursday for traffic, but for
the first year it is probably not necessary. We would like to have multiple musical stages, probably 6 or
7. We will have a lot of artistic stages with theatre, with workshops, and all of the other things I
mentioned before. The buildup for the festival will be 10 days prior to the event. The cleanup will take
about 7 days after. ID&T is an international company. We developed it in 1992. We have 100
employees working for us and we have 5 international offices. We have an office in the Netherlands, we
have an office in Australia, in Belgium, in Brazil, and recently opened an office in the USA, in NY. We
have over 1 million visitors a year. We are partly owned by SFX Entertainment. In this picture you can
see the global footprint we have. We have a lot of festivals in Europe and also have festivals in the
USA, South Africa, Canada, also Korea and Australia. Our corporate social responsibility is a high
priority for ID&T, and also for Mysteryland. We would like to say we celebrate social corporate
responsibility. For talent we would like to book your local DJ’s from the area. We think information
education is very important. We would love to have the community spirit. We have a pay it forward
program. Our event should be for all people. We also take care of the disabled people who would like
to visit our events. We believe in a recycle program.
Web page: www.town.bethel.ny.us
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Laura Jacobsen: This is the itinerary for year one. How we see it is on Friday we are going to open the
camping at 8am. At 3pm we are going to start with a pre party. This is only for the camping visitors.
Saturday and Sunday we would like to hold the full festival. On Saturday and Sunday we will have 20
thousand people on site. On Monday we would like to have what we call our Chill Out sessions. That is
also for the egress. We would like to give people the opportunity to sleep in, wake up, and leave the
festival in a slow way. The camping site will be open for 24 hours. We will have 24 hours of food, bar
specials and entertainment, so campers can enjoy the 5 star camping experience. The purple area
(referring to map) is where we want to have the festival. The green, red and yellow areas are the Bethel
Woods areas we are going to use for the entrance. The festival will be on the purple area. Next to the
DJ’s, the music, all of the creative things we will have at the festival we think that crowd management,
safety, security, and logistics are equally important for our festival. We will work together inconjuction
with the township, with local authorities, to go over comprehensive and management plans. We will
work together on the security and crowd control plan. A plan for the health and safety, and good
camping logistics. The first part is the health part. For this festival we will have first aid for the
camping and also first aid for the festival. It will be open 24 hours. During the festival, the first aid will
be operating during the festival hours. We will have mobile medical teams for the camping, at the
parking, and during the festival. We will have ambulances on site; we will be in contact with the local
hospital. We will give free water or electrolyte type of drink to our visitors. Mysteryland has a zero
tolerance for drugs, which we will communicate clearly. We will hire a medical director. We will have
cooperation with Tensafe to educate our visitors. Tensafe is a nonprofit organization and they promote
health and safety, within the festival. As for safety, we are going to make a security plan and a crowd
control plan. We will have an entrance procedure. There will be two procedures. One for festival and
one for the camping. Of course, it is different for the festival people coming in for a day then for the
camping. We will have an id check. We will check the tickets. We will give people wristbands and
there will be a security check before they come in. We will have a control center, where security, health
department, fire department, police department, can all come together and control the festival from an
area and check on an area, every 2 to 3 hours, whatever we think is necessary. There will be a central
dispatch for all the communication. We will hire a security director, which is Frank Keller. He has also
worked on numerous festivals in the USA. As for the camping, the camping will be managed
separately. That is because the camping and the festival have different operating hours so for the
camping we will have our own camping management team. Because it is 24 hours, on the camping, we
will have a tenting area, and we will have an area for RV’s. Those shall be separated. We have 7,000
tented campers, and 500 RV campers. For the camping, there will be a big surface area which will be
open 24 hours. There is going to be a market place with a mini market so they can buy essentials. There
will be food and beverage. People are going to spend a lot of time at the camping area. It is important
that they can have breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and also warm and cold drinks. So food and
beverage is a very important part of the camping. We will have showers and toilets. They will be clean.
There will be an information desk so people can go to the information desk. The camping will have
different entrance routes than the daily visitors. There will be different credentials for the camping
visitors, then the day visitors. The day visitors cannot go into the camping area. That is also for the tent
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area. We will keep the RV campers separate. Fire prevention is very important for the camping. We
will have access roads for the fire teams. There will be fire extinguishers provided at the tented area, at
the information booths, food and beverage locations, and of course, at the toilets and showers. There
will be emergency exits for the camping. At the tent area, there are multiple exits. We will have
emergency roads, which are also for EMS vehicles. This camping is a no car camping. It is only RV’s
and tents. We will have lighting at the camping. We have some experience with festivals, with
camping. We have had 40,000 campers in the Netherlands. We have Tommorowland in Belgium with
40,000 campers, Mysteryland in Chile with 25,000 campers, and at the end of this month we are going
to have Tomorrowworld here in the United States with 30,000 campers. Next year we start Mysteryland
in Holland with the camping. Here is a drawing of the camping area, this is on Best Road. (showing on
map). We are going to be putting up a fence in the tent areas. RV is separate from the tent area. 24
hour service area with bars and food as I just explained. This is a blowup of the entrance and first aid.
This is a picture from Holland. I think you can see clearly the tented areas. The big white tent is the
tent we use for the toilets and showers. You can see the walkways we have in between the tented areas.
For mobility, we made a preliminary plan. In this plan, every group who has come to arrive at the
festival has their own route. Day visitors have a different route than the others. At the next meeting we
will have an event plan and a traffic director. It is very important for the local economy. The estimated
economic contribution we think is approximately $4.5 million for the local economy. That is only for
the first year. There will be travel packages, which means they can rent a hotel or a house here in the
local community. Local suppliers will be used for food. When people arrive they will use gas,
hospitality, it is good for the local community. When they see what a pretty environment it is they will
want to come back. That is the presentation. Are there any questions?
Daniel Gettel: We do have people from Bethel Woods here. This event would happen not in
conjunction with any event at Bethel Woods. Bethel Woods would be closed for that weekend as far as
concerts go. Is that correct?
Darlene Fedun: The museum will be open.
Daniel Gettel: How do you normally control the perimeter of the property for an event such as this?
Laura Jacobsen: That is part of the security plan.
Daniel Gettel: You mentioned the first year. You have a 3 year contract?
Laura Jacobsen: We really believe in organic crowds. The first year we want to start like this and then
we will see with Bethel Woods and the local community to see if we can grow and how to do that.
Daniel Gettel: You have very elaborate stages. You don’t build the stages for specific sites. I assume
they travel with you.
Web page: www.town.bethel.ny.us
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Laura Jacobsen: Yes, they go to other sites.
Daniel Gettel: Prior to the meeting we talked about site disturbance. As far as SEQRA goes, you talk
about 3,000 parking spaces. If we have 3,000 parking spaces proposed for this event I think we are
talking about a Type I action.
Glenn Smith: Yes, over 1,000 spaces is a Type I action as far as SEQRA goes.
Jacqueline Ricciani: The question is where would the campers be parking?
Laura Jacobsen: (Showing on map the various parking areas).
Jacqueline Ricciani: When the campers come they will park on the Reinshagen farm. With all of their
gear will they walk to the camping area, or will you have shuttles?
Laura Jacobsen: The first year the parking for the camping is really close to the camping. It is a couple
of minutes walk. If you are early, you are the first one. It is walkable. We talked about having travel
packages and then have shuttles from the hotels. We are going to use Route 17B for the day visitors.
We are going to use West Shore, we would like to use separate roads for the separate groups attending.
We can switch the pressure on the traffic.
Daniel Gettel: At the past meeting we did talk about a possible road closure. Those are town board
issues. The town board also does the noise ordinances. That is all of my questions. The rumors are that
this is already sold out.
Laura Jacobsen: No, we haven’t started ticket sales.
Jacqueline Ricciani: Is there going to be a stage area where the campers are?
Laura Jacobsen: There is going to be some entertainment.
Jacqueline Ricciani: That will be separate. It will just be for tents and RV’s?
Daniel Gettel: Jacy, we have to look at what we actually have to approve, because Bethel Woods does
have a permit for the entertainment.
Jacqueline Ricciani: I am treating this as a transient campground. A specific area designated for the
camping. I wanted to find out what is going to be incidental to the camping, with the market,
entertainment.
Web page: www.town.bethel.ny.us
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Email: Bldgdept@libertybiz.rr.com
845-583-4350 Ext 15
845-583-4710 (F)
Town of Bethel
Planning Board
PO Box 300, 3454 Route 55
White Lake, NY 12786
Susan Brown Otto: One comment I would like to share with people because I hear this complaint from
local businesses. Even though when there is a night of a concert, and there are 17,000 people going to a
concert, and 17B is jammed up and what have you, and that may be great for Bethel Woods, which is
fantastic, sometimes people shy away from going to the other businesses. People don’t want to go out
and there is a fear factor like when the Phish people were here a few years ago, the roads are going to be
so jammed up I’m not going to do anything, and the local business suffer because people going to the
concert aren’t going to the restaurants in Kauneonga Lake, or the custard stand, or the pizzeria. I would
like to share this with the Town Board, and with you. When you are planning this try to spread out the
traffic as much as you can and get the word out on the streets so people don’t shut down the other
businesses for fear that they are not going to be able to get around and they are going to be stuck in
traffic for 2 hours or whatever.
Daniel Gettel: This is a question for Bethel Woods. Can you compare this to one of your concerts?
Darlene Fedun: This would be considered an A concert as far as size. It is more of a flow of people.
Daniel Gettel: I believe the town board is going to sit down with Bethel Woods and talk about next
years traffic plan, I’m sure this will be part of it.
Lillian Hendrickson: People will be coming in and out at different times. I went online and looked at
this, and it looks like the people do nothing but rave about it.
Steve Simpson: Tomorrowland. Where is that and when is that happening?
Laura Jacobsen: In Atlanta. The last weekend in September.
Steve Simpson: In terms of security, do you work with local security?
Laura Jacobsen: That is something we need to discuss. We would like to work with Bethel Woods
security. They obviously have a good security company. We would like to create a plan together.
Daniel Gettel: I’m assuming you are going to have to hire local people for vendors, security?
Laura Jacobsen: Yes, and they know the area.
David Slater: The end of May is corn planting season in the area for the local farmers. Shutting down
roads could affect the Agriculture. Has anyone taken that into account?
Laura Jacobsen: Yes we will. We are going to hire a traffic director. The next meeting we will have a
Web page: www.town.bethel.ny.us
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Email: Bldgdept@libertybiz.rr.com
845-583-4350 Ext 15
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Town of Bethel
Planning Board
PO Box 300, 3454 Route 55
White Lake, NY 12786
second version of the traffic plan and more clarity about the parking for the camping and how we are
going to do that.
David Biren: That is the first holiday weekend, boats go into the water, and you are bringing 20,000
people into our area. For us it is going to be a disturbance. How do you plan on regulating that?
Laura Jacobsen: I understand your concern. I actually have the same answer as before. It is something
we have to work out and have a traffic plan ready.
Daniel Gettel: We are talking roads that are in the immediate vicinity.
Brian Tamke: The traffic plan is designed to alleviate a lot of stress on the local neighborhood. As we
mentioned earlier, spreading out traffic so that it is not only more convenient for our guests to get inside,
it is more convenient and easier to move around the town for locals. When we speak about road
closures, they are really minimal. They are meant to be as low stress as possible. As we plan for the
next meeting, all of these questions and concerns will be taken in account in our plans.
Roseanne Oestrich: During Memorial Day weekend, it is our big summer crowd. We have probably
20,000 families coming to the area and are stocking their homes for the summer on that Friday. You
might consider the option of opening on Thursday, to help alleviate the supermarkets and what not. You
should let the supermarkets know that you are anticipating a large amount of campers.
Dan Sturm: When you talk about a traffic management plan. Is there going to be a separate traffic
management plan for this event, as opposed to normal Bethel Woods traffic management plan? My
understanding is that Best Road may be the only one that may be closed and alternate routes, such as
West Shore. I think as far as the Town Board goes I don’t know if the noise ordinance is applicable as
they may be exempt, which we have to find out since it is Bethel Woods. I think the Performing Arts
district is exempt from the noise ordinance.
Daniel Gettel: I just noted the 2:00 am closing time.
Daniel Gettel: Any other questions from the board? BJ does have copies of most of this presentation.
There isn’t much we can do at this time. We don’t have a full EAF. Glenn, please give them your
contact information.
David Biren: How much land will be disturbed?
Daniel Gettel: That will be part of the EAF.
Jacqueline Ricciani: What about the walkways between the tented areas?
Web page: www.town.bethel.ny.us
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Email: Bldgdept@libertybiz.rr.com
845-583-4350 Ext 15
845-583-4710 (F)
Town of Bethel
Planning Board
PO Box 300, 3454 Route 55
White Lake, NY 12786
Laura Jacobsen: We will put in steel plates.
Daniel Gettel: It is a temporary disturbance. We look forward to seeing you on October 8th.
Vicky Vassmer Simpson: Nothing from the town board.
Motion to adjourn by David Slater, second by Mike Cassaro
All in favor – 7
Opposed - 0
Agreed and carried
Respectively submitted,
Jannetta MacArthur
Recording Secretary
Web page: www.town.bethel.ny.us
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Email: Bldgdept@libertybiz.rr.com