Benefit to raise funds for Summit Lake defense to be held in Catskill

Summit Lake Conservation Group, formed in 2022 to stop a high-end housing development in the wooded viewshed of Summit Lake in Philmont announced the event Tuesday. It will be held at 7 p.m. Nov. 12 at the Avalon Lounge on Church Street in Catskill.

The evening will feature an eclectic mix of local and world-renowned musicians: Catskill fiddler Greg Farley; indie-pop craftsman Philip Goth; jazz and avant-garde keyboardist and composer John Medeski; and Red Hook’s Laura Zarougian and Little Tree.

All of the proceeds from the event will go toward Summit Lake Conservation Group’s legal defense of Summit Lake and its ecologically rich habitats.

Summit Lake, nicknamed “The Heart of Philmont,” is under threat of development, according to a statement from the conservation group. Clover Reach Partners wants to construct 16 high-end homes on 22 steep, wooded acres in the lake’s viewshed.

The Philmont Planning Board approved Clover Reach’s first proposal in August 2022. The conservation group filed a petition in September 2022 and succeeded in overturning the Planning Board’s approval when Judge Richard Mott of Columbia County Supreme Court sided with the group and denied the approval in January.

Clover Reach then filed a near-identical proposal in February, which the Planning Board approved in April, according to the statement. The conservation group filed a second lawsuit in May, once again opposing the development.

Clover Reach has repeatedly defended its proposal, saying the company wants to preserve as many trees as possible in the development’s viewshed and ensure after selling the homes that people don’t go out and clear all the trees.

At issue, the conservation group says, is the failure of the planning board to demand a full environmental review. The 22-acre site is home to numerous plant, tree, insect, mammal and bird species, some of them endangered, such as the Northern Long-Eared Bat and Indiana Bat.

Bald eagles hunt and raise their young in the vicinity of the lake. A narrow, one-way loop road through the development that does not meet state code has raised alarm in the community as a fire hazard. Runoff from grading, sewer and road building will dump into an area of the lake that is collecting upstream silt, the group said.

All the artists performing at the benefit are donating their talents in an effort to raise awareness about the importance of protecting and conserving local habitats and watersheds. The Avalon Lounge donated its space and staff for the evening.

Summit Lake is located on ancestral Mohican lands. The lake was formed when founding industrialists built a dam on the Agawamuck Creek in the 1840s, creating hydropower and an underground canal system that powered the town’s textile mills. Most of the mills were closed by the mid-20th century and the town entered a period of decline.

Philmont was designated a New York State Brownfield Opportunity Area, which allows state funds to assist in redevelopment. The designation recognizes Summit Lake as a vital natural resource and a historic artifact and cornerstone of the village’s historic district.

“Restoring Summit Lake through the Local Waterfront Revitalization Program and preserving Summit Lake’s historic viewshed are vital steps in energizing the local economy by focusing redevelopment funds on Philmont’s natural and historic assets,” the group said in the statement.

For more information about Summit Lake and the Nov. 12 event, visit https://summitlakeconservation.com, https://givebutter.com/summitlake or by mail at P.O. Box 436, Philmont, NY 12565.