Whippoorwill Club, DEP Agree to Conservation Easement on 104 Acres
The New York City Department of Environmental Conservation announced Monday that it has reached an agreement with the Whippoorwill Club to place a conservation easement on 104 acres that will help protect the Kensico Reservoir watershed.
The permanent easement, which will go into effect early next year after minor details connected with the estimated $10.4 million transaction are completed, will preserve the majority of the 170-acre site from future development. However, it allows the 300-member golf and tennis club, that has acreage in North Castle and New Castle, to continue operations, said DEC spokesman Adam Bosch.
“This is one of the many tools we use to protect water quality around the reservoirs, not only around the reservoirs but the streams and watercourses as well,” Bosch said.
Nearly a decade in the making, the agreement will enable the Whippoorwill Club to make a series of improvements to its facilities, including upgrades of the golf course drainage and irrigation systems; construction of a state-of-the-art turf management facility; parking lot improvements; and modernization of the infrastructure, said Geoffrey Thompson, the club’s public relations spokesman.
By making those improvements, water quality in the reservoir’s watershed will be protected by restricting the disturbance of wetlands, watercourses and 50-foot-wide buffer areas around seven headwater ponds on the course. Storm drains within fairways will also be retrofitted with filters to manage stormwater runoff.
Thompson said the remaining acreage that is not included in the easement drains toward a different site and away from city watershed property.
In a prepared statement, Club President Paul Atkinson said the agreement highlights the Whippoorwill Club’s dedication toward preserving the environment and protecting the drinking water for millions of New York City residents.
“We are very pleased to have reached an agreement with DEP that will preserve this environmentally valuable land from future development while helping protect the quality of the water that serves millions of people in the metropolitan area,” Atkinson’s statement read in part. “This transaction is in the best interests of the DEP, our members and the surrounding community.”
Bosch said this is the 18th conservation easement the DEP has entered into in Westchester and Putnam to protect the city’s watershed lands. The agency has also entered into about 140 agreements in the Catskills.
This agreement is on top of four other conservation easements that have been signed pertaining to adjacent properties totaling another 103 acres surrounding the Kensico Reservoir, Bosch said.
The club’s official address is on Whippoorwill Road off of Route 120 in Armonk. It first opened for golf in 1928, then was reorganized in 1947.
Bosch stressed that there is no change in tax implications for the municipalities. The only change is that it will be New York City’s responsibility to pay a pro-rated share of the tax bill, he said.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
