Sammis Farm 10 August Planning Board meeting

VERNON-Andrew Mulvihill won preliminary approval to develop a pair of hotels and a recreation complex on the site of the Sammis Farm, but before he is allowed to put spade to earth, he must convince the Vernon Township Planning Board that he can meet 20 board-mandated conditions. Among other demands, the board wants an ironclad assurance from Mulvihill and his firm, Sussex National Development, that the hotels, which would be built on both sides of Route 94 west of Mountain Creek and the Spa, will not be converted to time-share units of condominiums. If Mulvihill does not meet all the conditions, he will not get final approval. The board approved the plan a few minutes before midnight on last Wednesday, Aug. 10, by a 4-2 vote. The vote came after a hearing that lasted nearly three and a half hours and included testimony from the developer and his engineer, Kevin Wynn, and commentary from the public, including Vernon environmental commission chairman Craig S. Williams. Williams said that the Sammis property is environmentally sensitive because the aquifers underlying it supply most of Vernon's water. Board chairman Paul Emilius stepped down during the hearing, citing a conflict of interest involving the firm he owns, the GEOD Corporation of Newfoundland. The company provides surveying and digital mapping services, and one of its customers is Matrix Environmental, which has done studies on the Sammis property for Mulvihill. Board member Mark Vizzini served as chairman in Emilius' stead. "This is a nice project, there's a lot of green space and a lot of fields," said Vizzini. "The applicant has worked well with the board and has taken all the comments we've made. He's changed the architecture, has taken our engineering and planning comments and has tried to accommodate us." Before the board voted, former mayor and planning board member John Logan urged caution and delay, saying that too many questions remain about the project. "Examining issues related to water, traffic, ratables, we must look at what is the greater good," Logan said. "My sense is that there is a high probability of bait and switch. We need to stand up and do the right thing." Expressing similar concerns, former planning board member Carol Gunn-Kadish said that too little is known about Mulvihill's eventual plans for the Sammis Farm site. She observed that the developer already is saying that although he says he means to build the hotels and the recreation complex, he can't exclude other uses on the site. In an earlier site plan, she said, Mulvihill had proposed building 162 condominiums at the Sammis farm location. "Mulvihill has stated what he is going to build," responded Vizzini. "I highly doubt he'd have the face to come back and not do what he says he is going to do." Approval of the plan came just in time for the hotel and recreation complex to be included in Vernon's sewer district. By administrative consent agreement, Vernon promised to send the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection its revised wastewater management plan by Aug. 23. Any lot not in plan on that date could not be served by town sewers. Without the approval, the property would not have been included in the plan and Mulvihill would have had to scale back his plans considerably, said Councilman Neil Desmond, who was attending the meeting as an observer. Throughout the meeting, Leo and Delores Sammis, who together own two-thirds of the family property, listened attentively, hoping to know whether the sale of their land, which is contingent on the approval, will become final. Gloria Sammis, widow of the late Linn Sammis, owns the remaining third of the property. The Sammis family arrived in Vernon valley in the first years of the 20th century, and at one time owed the land on which Mountain Creek and Great Gorge are built. The remains of a log cabin belonging to the first Sammis in the valley still stand near Pochuck Creek, Delores Sammis said. The Sammis couple still lives in the 1915 farmhouse. But the vegetable stand they once ran on Route 94 has fallen into disrepair. About six years ago, Leo ceased active farming. "We're getting too old to maintain the house and garden," said Delores. "We can't afford two mortgages and two tax bills, so until the board grants final approval to the project, we can't close on the sale and we can't purchase a new place to live." Board engineer Thomas R. Lemanowicz outlined the 20 conditions that the developer must yet meet in several engineering reviews issued since May. Besides the assurance that the hotels will never become residential units, Sussex National must also get a letter of interpretation from the Department of Environmental Protection identifying the wetland boundaries, as well as waivers from the Sussex County Planning Division and the Sussex County Soil Conservation District. Also at issue are approvals from the N.J. Department of Transportation for easements on Route 94 and left turn lanes in the highway. The 32-room hotel will sit on the southern and the 100-room hotel on the northern side of the highway. The board also has asked the developer to verify that United Water will supply the hotel complex through an interconnection with Great Gorge. In addition, Mulvihill must expand on plans to manage storm-water run off and other drainage issues. What's more, the board asked Sussex National to pledge to omit lighting from the sports fields and to supply a schedule of development. The new hotel recreation complex would occupy about 17 acres of the site, which is zoned for commercial recreation, with about half of the acreage open space. In addition to the hotels, Mulvihill proposes to build a 40-seat, full-service restaurant; a gift shop; and a 40,000 square-foot recreation complex, comprising two soccer fields and two swimming pools (indoor and outdoor). If constructed, the $30-million complex would bring Vernon a little under $800,000 annually in tax revenues, Mulvihill has said. Mulvihill said he would return within two months to update the board on his progress in satisfying the conditions of the approval.