At its Aug. 5 meeting, the Milan Planning Board approved a revised master plan for Mirror Lake Retreat and scheduled a public hearing on its site plan that aims to add additional recreational vehicles to the property.
The board also scheduled a public hearing on an unrelated lot-line adjustment on Stonewall Path. Both hearings are set for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 2.
Mirror Lake Retreat, a campground at 64 White Drive, is seeking to add eight RVs to the seven already on its 220-acre campus. The retreat’s revised master plan removed amenities, including golf and a lazy river, that were never built, Planning Board Chair James Jeffreys said.
Jeffreys asked Mirror Lake representative and engineer Tom Harvey to explain as part of that review how the wastewater system might be affected.
Planning Board members Lauren Cawse and Hanna Diamond raised questions, first brought up last month, about how the property’s grandfathered RV use applies to the proposed expansion. The retreat, established in 1966, predates the town’s zoning code, which does not permit campgrounds.
“That’s the million dollar question that we are currently evaluating,” Jeffreys said, noting that he will reach out to the town planner for clarification on how the law applies to the retreat’s proposed site plan.
“I’d be interested if maybe there was a precedent established at some point of some other grandfathered condition that was expanded upon,” Cawse said.
The board also approved a minor subdivision for a lot at Senn Yuen Farm on Spring Lake Road. The property is owned by Peter Senn Yuen, who plans to add a farm store and staff housing.
Additionally, the board provided a preliminary review of a proposed eight-lot subdivision of a 119-acre property on Cold Spring Hill. Jeffreys asked engineer Brian Hildenbrand why the houses planned for the lots were so close together despite the size of the lots, some of which are about 26 acres. Hildenbrand said the layout accounts for the property’s topography, including steep areas and wetlands, while allowing for septic system installations.
Jeffreys suggested exploring whether the two northernmost lots could be converted into a conservation corridor and another lot relocated closer to the cul-de-sac.
“We’re trying to find the best solution for you,” Jeffreys said, “And for the plan to be able to maximize the use of the property without impacting the neighbor.”