Update:
At their most recent meeting, the Town of Highland Planning Board announced that the written comment period on the Camp FIMFO draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) will be extended to March 11* due to legal inadequacies with the public comment proceedings.
If you or someone you know did not get a chance to write a comment, or did not have the time to fully capture your thoughts & concerns in your submitted comment, we urge you to take advantage of this opportunity! If you didn’t get the chance to write something, write it now. Comments can come from any concerned person – not just Town of Highland residents – and can be submitted to the Planning Board at planningboardzba@townofhighlandny.com.
To review the application yourself, you can access the accepted Camp FIMFO draft EIS submission here. Stay up to date on all of our FIMFO Action Alerts by becoming a free member here and checking out our FIMFO page.
*Note: It is Delaware Riverkeeper Network’s understanding that the comment period has been extended to this date. However, at this time there is no information regarding the extension available on the Town of Highland website, and we are unable to reach the Town Clerk nor the Town Secretary after numerous calls to confirm this information.
Here are some things to think about while you’re writing your comment:
- Camp FIMFO is proposing 194 new RV Cabins all with bathrooms, electric, AC, and heating, to be placed in just a few acres of land. These cabin-like structures need a whole separate unit to tow them out, posing a massive safety concern because of the inability to move them quickly during a flood event.
- A 66,950 square foot Aquatic Play Area with two swimming pools, a multi-level play structure, and gallons upon gallons of chlorine treated water is proposed in the floodplain. Not only could this water wash into the river during a flood event, the pools themselves could become dislodged from the ground and be washed into the River, endangering all those in its path.
- The National Park Service (NPS) has determined that the Camp FIMFO application “fails to meet the intent of the guidelines and the [River Management Plan (RMP)]” that was set forth to protect the essential character of the Upper Delaware River Corridor. NPS found that the RV Cabins, which are essentially permanent structures with permanent infrastructure, intensify the land use and do not substantially conform with the RMP—and thus the application “does not maintain or conserve the essential character of the corridor.”
- The Town of Highland has an obligation under the New York State Constitution’s Bill of Rights, Article 1, Section 19, to uphold and protect the rights of each person to have clean air and water, and a healthful environment. Allowing Camp FIMFO to build would be in direct violation of the fundamental rights of the people of New York State.
- Importantly, speak from your personal experience of how you have loved and enjoyed the land and the River as it has been. Explain how this kind of development would severely change the iconic character and quality of the Upper Delaware River Corridor and the nature it would provide for future generations.