Worried neighbor of Baiting Hollow Boy Scout camp hires lawyer to fight C.O.P.E. course

Neighboring property owners worried about impacts of a new recreation installation at the Boy Scout Camp in Baiting Hollow will have to attend an afternoon meeting of the planning board this month to speak out on the proposed site plan for the development of a planned C.O.P.E. course and other amenities at the camp. A request to put the hearing over until May 2, which is an evening meeting date, was rejected by the planning board at its meeting last Thursday.

Deputy town attorney William Duffy asked the board if it would consider putting the hearing off for two weeks to allow for an evening hearing.

“There have been complaints from members of the public made to the town attorney’s office,” Duffy said. “The C.O.P.E. course is within 100 feet of their properties,” he said.

“Is it fair to the applicant to postpone it in order to accommodate other people’s schedules?” planning board member Ed Densieski asked.

After a brief discussion, the board decided to leave the hearing on for April 18 at 3 p.m.

“They can provide their comments in writing, also,” Densieski noted.

As reported by the Riverhead News-Review, neighbors are worried about noise from activity on the course, which consists of tall poles and other equipment for climbing and lines for recreational activities designed to build leadership, decision-making, and problem-solving skills.

“By its nature it’s an exhilarating activity,” Silver Beech Lane resident Bob Oleksiak, whose property abuts the 90-acre scout camp, said of the C.O.P.E. course. He believes that when the course in use it will generate a lot of noise — from kids screaming as they ride the zip lines through the treetops.

Oleksiak says he’s not opposed to the course, but would like the scouts to move it away from the neighbors’ property lines.

“They have 89 more acres there. We’d like to see them move it away from our homes,” he said in a phone interview today.

Camp director Jim Grimaldi told the News-Review the location is “the only viable spot on the property for the course, considering the land is flat in that area,” according to the newspaper account.

Olesiak said he’s hired former town supervisor Phil Cardinale, a Jamesport attorney, to fight the proposal.

“It’s fine, but the residents in this community just don’t want it so close to their homes,” he reiterated. “We’ve been here 30 years. It’s just not fair.” 

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