Got a Comment on the Proposed Belleayre Resort?

  |  April 22, 2013
Proposed Belleayre development

Proposed Belleayre development

‘Cause if you do, now’s the time to make it. If you haven’t been following the story, the Belleayre Resort is a proposed luxury development for the Belleayre Mountain Ski Resort, now managed by the Olympic Regional Development Authority. The current resort was declared “Forever Wild” by the New York State Forest Preserve in 1885, so we’ve always been a little confused about how luxury condos fit into that. Maybe they’ll be LEED-certified? Hey, it’s Earth Day, and a girl can dream. Here’s one explanation: “Because the ski center is located on Forest Preserve lands, an Amendment to the New York State Constitution was required to allow for the construction and operation of the ski area.”

According to the blog Adventures in the Outdoors, “The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has released a draft Unit Management Plan (UMP) for the Catskill Mountains Belleayre Mountain State Ski Center, along with an updated Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) for the private Belleayre Resort project for public review.  Copies of the documents are available on the DEC website.”

The plan is to replace lifts, make new ski trails, add parking and redeveloping the ski trails of the former Highmount Ski Center, among other developments.

There will be a public info meeting on May 22, 7pm at the Discovery Lodge at Belleayre Mountain, and public hearings will be held on May 29 at 3pm and 7pm at Belleayre’s Discovery Lodge. You can write in your comments, to, before June 24: belleayre@gw.dec.state.ny.us or snail mail to Daniel Whitehead, Regional Environmental Administrator, 21 S. Putt Corners Road, New Paltz, N.Y. 12561.

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