1) noise is a number and 2) a deal is a deal

Dear Neighbor, Friend, Citizen or Fellow Small Business Owner,

I am writing to encourage you to come to Stuyvesant Town Hall (5 Sunset Drive, Stuyvesant, 12173) on Monday, March 28, 2011 at 7 PM for the public comments for a planning board hearing.

I opened Glencadia Dog Camp, a dog hotel for New York City dogs, in Stuyvesant Falls in 2005, unanimously approved in 2009 without condition by the planning board. In August 2010 the town government revoked my permit to operate. At that time, the zoning officer claimed the reason was loud barking dogs. My facility is at least 800 feet from the nearest neighbor and in an agricultural zone. The charge was false and I never got a chance to present my side but they took my permit anyway. My business is something I worked hard to create that my family and the families of my employees and contractors depend on. We pay taxes create jobs, operating a small business perfect for an isolated spot in a rural, agricultural area.

I appealed to the zoning board of appeals. My lawyer said we should try to settle the dispute. Next thing you know, I have to go back to the planning board. This meeting should only be about sound (“noise is a number”) since that is what they said the problem was when they gave me the notice to shut my business down. And everyone at the meeting should respect the deal the lawyers made and the planning board ratified in January (“a deal is a deal”).

If everyone plays straight and sticks to the issue and the deal, this will be the end of this dispute and we can all stop this tedious and pointless battle.

I submitted a physics paper showing that my dogs cannot be loud at the road. I submitted 31 letters in support of my operation. I set up a sound test and invited the members of the planning, town and zoning boards to come and see for themselves. The sound test proved that the noise level generated by a full barn of dogs was essentially undetectable in terms of decibels and clearly substantially less than the sound of a passing car. I held an open house and invited the whole town to come take a look.

If you can spare a little time and come to the hearing, this mess could be over and I would be grateful. Thank you for your consideration. My family, my employees and contactors and I all thank you. We need to be able to earn a living, the process has not been fair and we followed all the rules.
Sincerely,


Will Pflaum
PO Box 40 • Stuyvesant Falls, NY 12174 • glencadia@gmail.com • 518-470-3981

Here is the link to the physics paper showing that the charge against me is impossible.

Here are the letters of support over many years (thank you). 

Here is the community context in terms of noise complaints.

Here is a timeline or the conflict with the town.

Here is the bill for sound proofing.

Here is the sound test I conducted.

Here is the open house invite. 

Here is a legal brief detailing the problems with the way this case was handled.

Here are the letters against me.


Why we are having this hearing: the matter is settled.


Here is my daily news blog. And a wikipedia for the county I created.




What a big deal about nothing. It's a joke, and here it goes:

Jurisdiction: How a Fallen Tree Almost Brought on the Apocalypse from glencadia on Vimeo.