About Us

The Bethel Roundtable is a collective of Bethel citizens who have come together with individual concerns about development activities and projects in our immediate "neighborhoods,” and a common interest in the overall health, safety and quality of life for our entire town.

We have raised the need to understand and address cumulative impact of projects; and have advocate for policy and resources for our planning and zoning boards; as well as this community of residents who want to be engaged.

Cumulative impact is specifically defined as impacts that result when the effects of an action are added to or interact with other effects in a particular place and within a particular time. We urge the Town to make cumulative impact a priority for its evaluation and planning. This board is in the position and has the opportunity to intervene, not interfere, with the current process in order to protect the health, safety and quality of life of this community that we call home.

The work to update the comprehensive plan will undoubtedly explore these and other important aspects. That is good, as it will influence how the plan promotes responsible, sustainable projects that add to our quality of life. But this will take time.

At this moment in time, we must, together adjust our view in order to see the evolution of our town with these and future impacts; and to preserve and maintain the natural resources and built infrastructure which are critical to maintaining our community character and quality of life.

“We don't inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” — Chief Seattle

While groups with immediate relevant concerns have focused their attention on specific issues; collectively the Bethel Roundtable has been working on the following: 

  • Circulated a town wide petition which was shared with the Town Board requesting:

    • Investment in sufficient staff and resources in the building department

    • Ensuring completion of applications and timely submission of documents as well as completed files available to the Planning and Zoning boards in advance of meetings and public hearings, as well as public access to these documents. 

    • A mandate that all planning and zoning board meetings and public hearings be accessible to all Bethel Residents through Zoom (or other video conference option) 

    • Timely public access to all documents

    • View and sign the petition here.

  • Hosted a community conversation and information gathering featuring Jennifer Grossman, land use and environmental Jennifer Grossman, land use and environmental attorney who spoke about the work of Catskill Mountainkeeper to assist municipalities and communities through grassroots empowerment, technical support and strategic advocacy. Read more here.

  • Continuing to raising funds to hire professionals. Donate here. Work done to date with professional consultants: 

    • Last winter the Roundtable hired GIS Mapper Stephan Metts and his firm, Geospex to evaluate and map the various projects approved or being considered in and around the Swan Lake district of town. He produced a map that illustrated a pattern of development of staggering importance. Based on a number of variables including room count and occupancy, Metts warned that in the near future, Bethel could expect a population increase of over 20,000 new residents. His results and map were presented to the Town Board in April 2024. Read more here.

    • The Roundtable has hired CEA Engineering out of Bloomingburg, NY to evaluate water, septic, and wetlands issues surrounding the application for a hotel/residential development at Mattison Road and Rt. 17B.

    • More recently, Stantec Engineering and Consulting, a firm with offices across the globe was retained to provide comments on the Scoping document for the Swan Lake Nest project.

    • Approximately 6 months ago the Roundtable retained attorneys Jeff Baker and Crystal Peck, both from the Albany area. The two have assisted in drilling down on relevant and winnable points we need to address. They have carefully looked at the town’s zoning, evaluated the Planning Board’s work as well as development projects of concern, and consulted on issues related to the Roundtable’s interest in a building moratorium to be enacted during the time work is being done updating the Comprehensive Plan. They have assisted in the various submissions made on behalf of the Roundtable in the above-mentioned Scoping process, and of great importance, the attorneys have written extensively and in great detail to the Planning Board. The result of the letter writing yielded a terrific result. For only the third time that anyone can remember in the past three decades, the Planning Board wisely and correctly declared a Positive Declaration for the potential for at least one significant adverse impact as per NY State environmental law (SEQRA) regarding the Swan Lake Nest project. The other two, The Chapin Estate Project and Bethel Woods, did so voluntarily. This “Pos Dec” has, by law, triggered the very rigorous scientific review that the massive “Nest” project requires. However, being in the mix and having a “voice” in an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) review process is rigorous and thus, expensive.

The Bethel Roundtable continues outreach to inform and engage Bethel residents in order to promote better understanding of projects, their scope and potential impact; as well as to encourage individuals to participate in the process.