The Town of Cobleskill will hold a public hearing on zoning changes needed to move the Howe Caverns project forward on Monday at 7:30pm at the Cobleskill Fire Department.
The hearing will be held as part of the town’s June meeting; this is a change of location.
The hearing will consider a request from Howe Caverns Inc. to rezone existing Rural Residential and Business-2 zones as a Planned Development District.
The change is needed to permit some of the pieces of the Caverns’ hoped-for expansion on its 330-acre property.
Included among those plans are: Dinosaur Canyon, a visitor’s center with full-sized animatronic replicas; a year-round RV park for 175-200 recreational motor vehicles; a zipline, mountain coaster and Tree Canopy Tour; and a new gemstone mining building.
Depending on the economy, the project could also eventually include a 250-room hotel and attached 50,000 square-foot indoor water park.
The project is projected to create some 300 new jobs to start and boost attendance to approximately 500,000 a year/
Construction would begin in late 2010.
The Cobleskill Planning Board voted to support the zoning changes; final decision is up to the Cobleskill town board.
The individual pieces of the project will be subject to review by the Planning Board.
Monday’s hearing is on the zoning change only.