Plan Narrative - Bethel Planning Board Meeting 2_10


	BETHEL WOODS CENTER FOR THE ARTS OVERALL DEVELOPMENT PLAN NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION Presented to the Town of Bethel Planning Board February 10, 2004 The Gerry Foundation, Inc. has applied to the Town of Bethel Planning Board to permit it to develop and construct a Performing Arts Center Planned Development pursuant to 130-17E of the Town of Bethel Zoning Law. The development is to be known as "Bethel Woods Center For the Arts" and will be located on 634+/- acres on and surrounding a portion of the 1969 "Woodstock Festival" site. The proposed development is depicted on the "Overall Development Plan" submitted with the application. Specific elements of the Overall Development Plan are described below. A conceptual overall development plan for a "Bethel Performing Arts Center" was considered and analyzed in the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQRA) Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) prepared prior to the Town's enactment of the legislature creating the PA-Performing Arts Center Development District and its implementing regulations. The current Overall Development Plan, while similar in the variety of uses provided, is smaller in scope than the overall development plan analyzed in the GEIS. The Plan has refined elements of those originally proposed to insure their likelihood of success. Any significant differences between the two plans are highlighted below. 1. Overall Development Plan Phase I Elements: A. Performing Arts Pavilion The Pavilion is located east of the core complex on the former Gabriel Farm property. It will accommodate 4,000 seats under roof cover. An additional seating area for 3,000 persons will be available on the adjacent lawn. Lawn area capacity could, depending upon the performance, be increased to accommodate as many as 12,000 persons. However, such events are likely to be extremely rare and may, in fact, never occur. The entire building will be fully sprinklered. Ancillary facilities serving the Pavilion include a 4 building groupings of concession area/toilet facilities located at house-right, house-left, top of lawn and at the VIP plaza. Service access to the Pavilion will be provided by the Service Drive described below. B. Core Building Complex The core complex ("Core Building Complex") is located on the rear plateau of the 37 acre parcel which encompasses a portion of the 1969 Woodstock Festival site. The complex consists of an interconnected series of buildings which will totally approximately 35,000-38,000 square feet. The interconnected buildings consist of an Interpretative Center, an Events Lobby, a Community Theater and various support facilities. When fully constructed, the buildings will function as and have the design and appearance of a single integrated structure. The Interpretative Center will include a mix of uses such as multi-media room, an exhibition area and modest retail and food concessions. It will contain music and cultural theme exhibits celebrating music in America and the significance of the Woodstock Festival and its context in the era in which it occurred. The Events Lobby is a large, multi-purpose open space of about 4,500 square feet. It is intended to be used for community and other events such as lectures, receptions, meetings, children's arts activities, etc. The Community Theater is a full, stage theater consisting of 650 seats. It will be capable of presenting full staged, professional theater productions. Support facilities include administrative office space, a box office for the Pavilion and Theater, rest room facilities and area for mechanicals, etc. The maximum height of the Core Building Complex is approximately 42 feet with exception of the community theater stage house which ranges approximately from 58 feet at the audience chamber to 72 feet for the stage house. The Core Building Complex is reduced from the "Central Core" analyzed in the GEIS to insure economic viability and reduce disturbance across the rear plateau. The Central Core proposed approximately 390,000 total square feet of building space consisting of a 25,000 square foot visitor center, a 65,000 square foot performance hall, a 200,000 square foot music/attraction museum and a 100,000 square foot retail market place. As already noted, the Core Building Complex here will be about 35,000-38,000 square feet. C. Event Tents Located along the pedestrian pathway that connects the Core Building Complex with the Pavilion are a series of "Event Tents". During events, these sites can be rented for event viewing and picnicking. During non-event days they will be available to site visitors/patrons for picnicking and other permitted activities. D. Farmers' Market The Farmers' Market will be located at the northwestern edge of the Core Building Complex. Three permanent, pole barn type structures consisting of 4,000 square feet each will be constructed at this location. This is equivalent square footage to what the non-permanent tents currently provide. The permanent nature of these structures will extend the Farmers' Market season and number of visits by providing vendors and consumers great protection against elements and an overall more serviceable venue. The Farmers' Market has been relocated back to its approximate current operating location from the site across Hurd Road shown on the GEIS overall development plan. This was done after careful analysis of the operation by the applicant and its determination that the long-term liability of the market and its potential for further expansion after five years of operation is best accomplished at the location of the principal performance activities on the site. E. Festival Stage The Festival Stage site remains as proposed in the overall development plan in the GEIS. Festival Stage Events may utilize a temporary stage initially. In addition, because of the likely infrequency of Festival Stage use, the previously designated areas across West Shore Road are unnecessary and have been removed. F. Site Infrastructure 1 - Parking: A variety of off-street parking is depicted on the Overall Development Plan. The principal parking areas for patrons are located adjacent to Hurd Road across from the main venue activities at the same location shown in the GEIS overall development plan. This parking area consists of 240 paved parking spaces, 763 gravel parking spaces and 1,203 grass parking spaces. This area also includes 25 paved parking spaces for buses. An additional 122 paved parking spaces are located along the Service Drive and near the Core Building Complex for disabled patrons, VIP patrons and employees. The Overall Development Plan continues to show off-site overflow parking to be used for events exceeding customary operating capacity. 2 - Service Drive: A principal Service Drive is incorporated into the Overall Development Plan to provide access to major site utilities, employee parking and back of house area of the Pavilion. The Service Drive provides direct access to the electrical sub-station and wastewater holding tank. It also provides access for larger vehicles to service the Pavilion as well as access to employee parking spaces and VIP parking and drop-off areas. The Service Drive has been relocated further north of the location shown on the GEIS overall development plan. That relocation has allowed the avoidance of wetland crossings; has reduced the amount of vegetation to be cleared; has reduced the length of road to be constructed and has allowed a more serviceable and efficient means to service the Pavilion back of house. 3 - Pedestrian Pathways and Circulation: The Overall Development Plan continues to incorporate a series of pedestrian pathways to bring patrons into the site and provide for internal site circulation. A gravel surfaced pedestrian trail is located along the entirety of the Hurd Road parking area which leads patrons from the parking lots to a central crossing at Hurd Road across from the Core Building Complex. Across Hurd Road, patrons will enter a court yard where they can access the Core Building Complex Box Office for ticketing. Once ticketed, the patrons will proceed through an entry gate to the main internal pathway circulation system which will be paved. Patrons can then proceed along that pathway system to and from the Core Building Complex and the Pavilion. Patrons wishing to descend toward the Festival monument will be able to access existing non-paved trails. 4 - Wastewater Holding Tank: The Overall Development Plan continues to incorporate a wastewater holding tank for the collection and storage of sewage effluent generated from the project's rest room facilities. A collection system consisting of 6" and 8" lines will be located throughout the project site and will flow by gravity to the wastewater holding tank. The wastewater holding tank has been relocated together with the relocation of the Service Road so that it may be directly accessed by that road. The wastewater holding tank will consist of a solids removal system, grit removal, a 60,000 gallon storage tank and a discharge pumping station. Because of the reduction in the central core elements or restructuring of the project, the wastewater holding tank can service the entire needs of Phase I. 5 - Water Service and Storage Tank: Water service facilities are proposed to be located on the north side of West Shore Road across from the Gabriel Farm building complex. These facilities include a well drilling, a 30,000 gallon storage tank, and a booster pump station. Water will be distributed from the water service facilities throughout the project site by a series of 8", 6" and 4" water mains. The overall dimensions of the tank will be 52 feet in diameter with a sidewall height of 22 feet. The height to the center of the top of the dome would be approximately 25 feet high. This tank will be partially buried so that 16 feet in the front and 10 feet in the rear of the tank would be visible from West Shore Road. The tank has been relocated to reflect the fact that the potable water system is now a pressure type system rather than a gravity system and is able to be placed in a less visible location than previously proposed. 6 - Electrical Substation: The Electrical Substation has been reduced to an area adjacent to the Service Drive. It is now clustered with other site infrastructure for efficiency of service and operation. II. Overall Development Plan Phase II Elements: A. Inn and Conference Center The Inn and Conference Center remains the same in all respects as proposed in the GEIS overall Development plan. It would consist of a three story building of approximately 150,000 square feet. Included within the building would be spa facilities, restaurant and dining rooms and conference space. It would be utilized year round. B. School for the Performing Arts The School for the Performing Arts remains the same in all respects as proposed in the GEIS Overall plan. The school, as presently conceived, would consist of three separate two-story buildings, totaling 80,000 square feet, housing classrooms, practice facilities, performance space, dining facilities, and offices. The school would accommodate 200 students, some of whom would be residential, and up to 50 faculty. Initially, the school would operate seasonally. C. Parking A paved parking lot of approximately 560 spaces would be shared between the Inn and School. D. Permanent Wastewater Treatment Plant A permanent wastewater treatment plant would be constructed and brought on-line concurrent with the implementation of Phase 2 uses. This assumes however, that the Town of Bethel has not, by that time, extended the Kauneonga Lake Sewer District to service the project. Construction of a permanent wastewater treatment plat has been moved to Phase 2 due to the much lower gallon per day of sewer effluent generated from the downsizing of Phase I. III. Operational Characteristics Phase I of the Overall Development Plan will still operate on a seasonal basis (other than perhaps the Interpretative Center) and is still planned to achieve maximum operating capacity for that phase by the end of 2006. However, due to the restructuring of the core facilities and based on further business operations research conducted by the applicant, the maximum projected customary operating capacity for Phase I has now been fixed at 7,000 persons. The current Overall Development Plan reflects permanent infrastructure based on this maximum operating capacity. In those rare instances where this maximum capacity is exceeded, infrastructure demands will be met through the use of those temporary facilities and measures already described in the GEIS and the SEQRA Findings Statement previously adopted by the Town. IV. Construction Phasing: Phase I will be constructed in sub-phases. The first sub-phase is projected to include the Pavilion and all of its support facilities and all permanent infrastructure and, may also include a portion of the Core Buildings Complex.