July 03, 2008 08:50 am
—
By JIM AUSTIN
Cooperstown Crier
SPRINGFIELD — Madison
Square Garden Entertainment is
not waiting to find out if an environmental
impact statement will
be required for its $15 million proposal
to hold a three-day music festival
on 1,000 acres of land in the
town of Springfield.
Planning Board Chairwoman
Mary Clarke said this week MSG
recently submitted a preliminary
scoping document in anticipation of
doing an environmental impact
statement.
``They’re assuming they’ll have
to do one,’’ Clarke said.
At the time MSG submitted its
site plan application, Senior Vice
President Don Simpson said they
planned to do an environmental
impact statement.
``We know and realize with the
magnitude of the project it will
mostly likely be required so we
might as well go ahead and do it,’’
he said.
Although the planning board is
just in the beginning stages of its
review of the project, Clarke agreed
the move could save MSG time in
the review process.
Environmental impact statements
are generally triggered when
a board makes a positive declaration
for a proposal during Part Two
of the State Environmental Quality
Review. Clarke said that because
MSG is going straight to an impact
statement, she is uncertain if the
planning board will complete Part
Two of the SEQR.
``We don’t have to do Part Two,
but we can,’’ she said, adding that
completing Part Two sometimes
helps to highlight other impacts
the board may not have considered.
MSG’s scoping document identifies
the impacts that it believes it
will have to address in the environmental
impact statement. Clarke
said the document lists agricultural
and cultural resources, vegetation,
wetlands, topography and
soils, storm water, traffic, transportation
and noise as the impacts
MSG anticipates.
The planning board can add to
the list if it identifies other potential
impacts.
Clarke said the board has 60
days to respond to the scoping document
and plans to seek public
comment. After MSG receives the
planning board’s response, they
will submit a final scoping document.
The planning board is expected
to declare itself lead agency for the
review of the project.
The site plan submitted by MSG
must also be reviewed by the planning
board.
The festival is expected to attract
as many as 75,000 people to
the site off Route 20 to hear three
days and nights of music annually.
According to Simpson, the festival
would be patterned after
Coachella in California and Bonnaroo
in Tennessee, and the goal is to
have the first concert during the
summer of 2010.
The planning board meets
Thursday in the Springfield Community
Center at 7 p.m.
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