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The Catskill Heritage Alliance is a grassroots organization dedicated to preserving the harmony between the villages of the central Catskills and the surrounding wilderness through community revitalization and open space conservation. The CHA is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt charitable organization.
Belleayre Information Page The Real BelleayreThere are two Belleayres, so don’t believe statements intended to blur the lines between our public Belleayre Mountain and its Ski Center, part of the Catskill Park and forest preserve, VS the private proposed Belleayre Resort, a for-profit real estate development.
The first is our beloved, state-run, publicly funded, family-friendly Belleayre Mountain where thousands of skiers and hikers, including us, recreate year-round. It’s an essential part of the state park and forest preserve that belongs to us all; its Ski Center is even mentioned in the state constitution. And it’s an essential engine of our local economy. See the recent Newsday article:
The other is the proposed Belleayre Resort at Catskill Park—private, for-profit, and now wending its way, with difficulty, through the state-mandated environmental quality review process, SEQR. This second Belleayre with its hotels, spas, restaurants, shops, gates, houses, condos, roads, lights, etc., could well become a disaster for our first Belleayre—and for our local communities and our local economy as a result.
We’re concerned that building this outsized proposed Resort might hurt the long-promised expansion of the public Ski Center it would abut. We’re worried that a huge high-end real estate development—really a sizeable city—would crowd this public recreational facility, degrade the outdoor experience and even raise lift and rental prices. What’s more, many of the “improvements” to the Ski Center being touted as part of the Agreement in Principle on the Resort are actually special perks for Resort guests. We don’t like the idea of our tax dollars — and yours — going to build and maintain ski lifts, special trails, and snowmaking equipment to
enhance the profit and enjoyment of a few. We’d like to be sure that public money creates recreation opportunities that all the public can access, not just those able to pay top dollar to stay in an oversized, overpriced Resort.
So don’t be confused. When you hear people telling you there’s just one Belleayre, they mean the one that would overwhelm, overtake, and maybe engulf the Belleayre Mountain we all love with its public Ski Center. Hold onto your wallets when they start talking, and remind them that the real Belleayre is part of a state park that belongs to all New Yorkers.
Belleayre Unit Management Plan
The Belleayre Mountain Ski Center is in the process of producing a new unit management plan (UMP). UMPs are plans that identify opportunities for recreational use and consider the ability of the resources and ecosystems to accommodate public use. In the Catskill Park, UMPs are developed in compliance with Catskill Park State Land Master Plan guidelines.UMPs must also meet the provisions of the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). Upon the filing of an Environmental Assessment Form (EAF), a determination is made on whether or not the actions proposed in a UMP will result in any significant environmental impact.
Belleayre Superintendent Tony Lanza presented information on proposed components of the plan at a public meeting on Saturday, March 1st. Mr. Lanza stated the UMP could include a proposal to run trails down the mountain to Pine Hill and install a lift at the end of Bonnieview Avenue to carry skiers back up.
As pointed out by the Adirondack Mountain Club, "public participation is a vital part of DEC's management and planning. Informal public meetings and formal hearings are held to hear public comments throughout the decision-making process to ensure that the citizens of the state have the opportunity to play a part in planning for management of...public lands."
