The Milan Planning Board approved eight additional RV sites at Mirror Lake Retreat on Nov. 4, as the campground prepares to restrict stays to members of Christian nonprofit groups and churches.
Mirror Lake Retreat, located at 64 White Drive, currently has seven recreational vehicle sites. The approval of a revised site plan will allow the campground to add eight sites, bringing its total to 15.
Hanna Haney, who joined the retreat as executive director in October, said the RV sites will be reserved for members of Christian nonprofit groups and churches beginning Jan. 1, 2027, and will no longer be available to the general public. Haney said the retreat will make an exception for about five people who had booked sites for the winter before the policy change.
RV guests will also face limits on the length of their stays.
“No more long-term residents of any kind, just groups that come and go, a week in the summer, weekends this time of the year, that kind of thing,” Haney said.
The town’s zoning code does not permit campgrounds, but Mirror Lake Retreat, established in 1966, predates the restriction. At meetings in July and August, Planning Board members questioned whether the property’s grandfathered campground use would allow the proposed expansion.
At the board’s Sept. 2 meeting, Chair James Jeffreys said the town’s planning attorney had determined that the expansion was permitted because the property had always been intended for use as a campground.
The board also approved a nine-lot subdivision on a 119-acre property on Cold Spring Road, following revisions to address concerns about steep slopes, wetlands, and the placement of the lots.
At its Aug. 5 meeting, Jeffreys had raised concerns about the proposed lots being too close together. Engineer Brian Hildenbrand also identified steep slopes and wetlands that could complicate septic system installations.
At the Nov. 4 meeting, Hildenbrand said he had rearranged the lot sizes and moved one lot closer to the cul-de-sac to avoid disturbing the steep slopes. The changes allowed him to divide the property into nine lots, up from the eight originally proposed.
“We chased all the property lines to make sure everything checked out zoning-wise, so we’re confident with nine lots,” Hildenbrand said, adding that the revised plan includes additional buffers between lots and a corridor along the Taconic State Parkway.
In other business, the board reviewed a proposed lot line adjustment on a 20-acre property on Sawmill Road owned by Stephen Schreiber.
The adjustment would create a 3-acre lot, the minimum size required to build a dwelling in the area. Architect Diego Celaya said the lot is intended for his father, Mario Celaya, who has served as caretaker of Schreiber’s property for 30 years and plans to retire soon.
“My dad doesn’t have a house, so Steve is giving him a 3-acre parcel for him to build his house, like a gold watch kind of thing because property is so expensive these days,” Celaya said.
The board scheduled a public hearing on the proposed lot line adjustment for its next meeting, at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 2.
Planning Board liaison Glenn Weinrich also reported that the Town Board had appointed Jim Brudvig to fill the vacancy left by Planning Board member Hannah Diamond, who resigned in October.