Hauspurg Still Pursuing Marbletown Green
Published in the Blue Stone Press, 1/18/2008
To the Editor:
We write to respond to the Hauspurgs’ full-page ad in the last issue of the Blue Stone Press addressing their efforts to demolish the 200-year old Stone Ridge Orchard and turn it into a housing project with hundreds of densely packed units. Such a development is not permissible without a major zoning change by our Town Board and would destroy the rural character of our town. Preserve Marbletown, and we believe the overwhelming majority of the community, adamantly opposes a development of this size. We do not oppose all development. We oppose this particular development.
This past fall, in the face of huge public opposition, the Hauspurgs stated that they had abandoned their high-density development and would offer to sell Stone Ridge Orchard so that it could continue as a farm. They have yet to honor that promise.
The Hauspurgs’ $4 million asking price is not an offer to sell the land as an orchard, but rather as a site for the very type of high-density development they claim to have abandoned. This is obvious from the Hauspurgs’ own appraisal, which explicitly states that it values the land as a high density mixed residential/commercial development. The assertion in the Hauspurgs’ recent ad that their appraisal is “not based on any high density development income potential” is inconsistent with their own appraisal. That is exactly what it is based on, and what allows the Hauspurgs to claim that their land is now worth seventeen times the $235,000 they spent to buy it in 1999 (when average land values in Marbletown have increased only by a factor of two over the same time period). We urge the Hauspurgs to make their appraisal public so everyone can see for themselves that it assumes a high-density development, which is impermissible without a major zoning change.
The true price of the land as an orchard is $485,000, according to the Town’s current assessment, which is also consistent with the average increase in the value of land in Marbletown since 1999. If turned into a low-density development consistent with existing zoning laws, the price of the land is slightly over $1 million, as established by two independent appraisals. Either way, the $4 million demand is unreasonable and appears designed merely to permit a later claim that no one wanted to buy the orchard when it was offered for sale.
The Hauspurgs assert in their ad that we are “unwilling to engage in true dialog.” That is not true. More than two months ago, Preserve Marbletown conveyed its request for a meeting with the Hauspurgs to Town Supervisor Vin Martello. If the Hauspurgs would now like to meet with us, we would be eager to do so. At such a meeting, we would do our utmost to persuade the Hauspurgs to honor their pledge that they will not pursue a high-density development and will sell the orchard, as an orchard, for its actual fair market value.
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