Here I go again on my soapbox

The Woodstock Site is in peril of development... I'm one of the Board of Directors for the Woodstock Preservation Alliance - and we are in our final drive for petition signatures to present to the Town of Bethel, asking them to disallow development on the 38-acre Woodstock Site. We favor the building of a Performing Arts Center on the other 1300 acres owned by the Gerry Foundation, but want the Site to remain an open unfenced area, perhaps designated as a "Peace Park".

PLEASE - visit our website, and click the link to sign the petition. We only have a few more days to get signatures. Send the link to friends and family... PLEASE HELP!

You got my name of it, the link works fine

Count me in--I'm signed up, too. <img src="http://www.arlo.net/ubb/smilies/peace.gif" width=16 height=16>

I've been really bummed for the last few days... but I'm in the process of letting go. I think that's what I need to learn in this lifetime - how to let go. I'm seeing that as a recurrent theme lately.

On Tuesday night, the Town of Bethel's Joint Lead Agency for the proposed Performing Arts District handed down its decision. Basically, they acknowledge the comments of the Woodstock Preservation Alliance, but say they are approving the plan as written by the Gerry Foundation. We're still trying to get a face-to-face meeting with Mr. Gerry... but we've been trying to do that for two years already and I don't believe that it will come to be.

I think I need to focus on other areas where, maybe, I can make a little bit of a difference in this world. (If you want to stop war and things, you got to sing loud!)

Here's the text of a portion of their decision:

<I>NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Joint Lead Agency hereby adopts the Statement of SEQRA Findings and Decision (the "Findings Statement," attached hereto) which provides, in pertinent part, that (i) the Joint Lead Agency has given consideration to the FGEIS, and finds that the FGEIS, together with its Appendices, is complete and comprehensive in scope and content, identifies and adequately discusses all reasonable alternatives to, and all reasonably anticipated environmental impacts of carrying out the proposed action, and that all of the requirements of SEQRA have been met; (ii) consistent with social, economic and other essential considerations from among the reasonable alternatives thereto, the action to be carried out is one which minimizes or avoids adverse environmental effects, to the maximum extent practicable, including the effects disclosed during the Environmental Impact Statement process; and (iii) consistent with social, economic and other essential considerations, to the maximum extent practicable, adverse environmental effects revealed during the Environmental Impact Statement process will be minimized or avoided by incorporating as conditions to the decision those mitigative measures which were identified as practicable; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED the Joint Lead Agency hereby adopts and authorizes execution of the certification contained in the attached Findings Statement certifying that the requirements of SEQRA have been met; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED that in response to comments received during the comment period after the issuance of the Notice of Completion of the FGEIS the Joint Lead Agency finds that the objections to any construction on the original festival site (i) were very similar to the oral and written objections that were raised during the comment period following the issuance of the draft GEIS and did not raise any issues that were not addressed in the response to comments contained in the FGEIS, (ii) fail to recognize that there are limited areas of construction for the core facilities when other environmental impacts, like wetland preservation and archeological impacts, must be taken into account, (iii) fail to acknowledge that the proposed areas of construction leave a vast majority of the original concert site in its natural state, where it is proposed that outdoor concerts will be held once the project has received the necessary approvals, (iv) generally do not address the fact that the proposed areas of construction activities are limited to the periphery of the 38 acre original concert site in an area where the original vendor areas were located for the 1969 concert and (v) fail to recognize that the Joint Lead Agency must give consideration to all potential impacts and that the proposed location of the core facilities best accounts for, addresses and mitigates all potential environmental impacts, and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED that the Findings Statement for the above-described action shall be filed and distributed in accordance with the requirements of 6 NYCRR 617.12 of SEQRA. </I>
<img src="http://www.arlo.net/ubb/smilies/bawling.gif" width=21 height=16>

I admit to being somewhat stupid, and I am very impressed with what was posted, but forgive for asking, has anyone asked about it becoming an historial park, maybe with somekind of federal protection...I mean Custer's Last stand is protectecd, Davy Crokett's birthplace, why not woodstock?

Wyld, I am so sorry. Sorry for us all. Of course you're bummed. You worked really hard for a noble cause. While the other side seems to have won, it sounds as though your efforts did make them toe the line in ways they woudn't have done, and saved the site from worse desecration. You <img src="http://www.arlo.net/ubb/smilies/angel.gif" width=25 height=20>should be proud of all that you have done.

Wyld, you did your best and you probably did make some difference. Most activists pretty much have to live with the three f's - feelings of failure, futility and frustration. And yet, without them there'd be nothing to hold back the other side of any given issue. So, congratulations on fighting your good fight.

They need to realize that the Woodstock site is a sacred place... <img src="http://www.arlo.net/ubb/smilies/peace.gif" width=16 height=16>

Damn hippies. <img src="http://www.arlo.net/ubb/smilies/smile.gif" width=15 height=15>

( I'm with ya!)

What Ceas and the others said. Really, Wyld, the only way you could have failed is to have failed to act. I appreciate all your efforts--without your posts and links, most of us wouldn't have even known of the controversy. I wish you luck on arranging a meeting with Mr. Gerry.

Wyld,
You gave it your best shot! <img src="http://www.arlo.net/ubb/smilies/rocketman.gif" width=100 height=33>

Thanks for trying, and for keeping us informed. <img src="http://www.arlo.net/ubb/smilies/smile.gif" width=15 height=15>

Geezus this kind of thing pisses me off. I see it everywhere, what few special places we have left are under attack by the profit-hungry.

We see beauty, they see unspent resources. We do seem to be losing every battle lately, and it just breaks my heart. How do you convince people that we have developed enough of the planet, that we should save the last wild places? That we need to reduce human population?

Thanks for your many efforts WF.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by lcj:


That we need to reduce human population?

.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

We got people in the middle east, and other places, working on that problem right now, although I don't think we would approve of their methods or motivation.

I think Wyldflower done an excellent job, but I bet that the big money people think that a 60's revivial bar would be a suitable reminder and they could even make more bucks.

By the time we got to Woodstock...
They'd paved paradise
and put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel
A boutique
and a swinging hot spot.

Thanks everyone for your good thoughts.
Yes, we tried the historic preservation angle... The Federal offices say we have to approach our State Dept of Parks and Historic Preservation on this matter. And the NYSPHP people are only looking at "potential historic value" since the event was less than 50 years ago. So basically, whatever the landowner wants is okay with them, at least until 2019. According to them, the Gerry Foundation is within their description of historic correctness, by placing their "marketplace" (aka strip mall) at the top of the bowl, where the hamburger vendors were in '69... even though in '69 there were only temporary structures, and the current plans are for several permanent structures over the top 1/3 of the field.

Don't it always seem to go...
you don't know what you've got til it's gone.

Thanks again for letting me know that what I was trying to do was worthwhile. No word yet on a meeting with Alan Gerry.

Peace, Love, Music and letting go of the land, but holding onto the spirit!