Infinity Hills Comes to Mountaindale: A New Development, Old Questions and Environmental Red Flags
Dear Friends and Neighbors
On the western side of the Town of Fallsburg, the hamlet named Mountaindale has long been associated with wooded hills, open land, streams and a quiet rural character. At the corner of Church Road and Glen Wild Road, however, a very different landscape is being proposed. Infinity Hills Estates wants to construct approximately 160 single-family manufactured homes on roughly 105 acres, along with community buildings, swimming pools, sports courts, playgrounds and other recreational facilities.
On August 13, 2026, the Fallsburg Planning Board held a public scoping session on the project. The meeting raised a long list of questions and those questions matter because Infinity Hills has already received a positive declaration under SEQR. That means the Planning Board determined that the project will have significant adverse environmental impacts, requiring a full Environmental Impact Statement, or EIS. The purpose of the August 13 meeting was to determine what issues EIS must examine. The questions were extensive.
The wastewater problem
The biggest concern is the proposed package wastewater treatment plant. Infinity Hills is outside the Town’s water and sewer district, so the developer proposes private wells for water and its own wastewater treatment system. Treated wastewater could eventually be discharged into a stream, subject to DEC approval and applicable requirements. But the Planning Board did not simply ask whether the plant could operate when everything goes according to plan. Board members asked what happens when it doesn’t.
What happens if the plant fails? What happens 10 or 20 years from now? What happens during a catastrophic failure in the summer when the development is occupied? Is there enough emergency storage? Is there a backup system? Who operates and monitors the plant? Who pays for repairs and replacement equipment? What happens if the system is not properly maintained?Those are fundamental questions when a private wastewater facility is expected to serve approximately 160 homes for decades. The Board also questioned how the plant would function if Infinity Hills is primarily seasonal, when wastewater flows may be dramatically lower during portions of the year. A treatment plant is not simply installed and forgotten. It requires operators, electricity, maintenance, testing, monitoring and money. The EIS should establish how the system will remain reliable over the long term and what financial safeguards will prevent the Town from eventually being left with the problem.
Where will the water come from?
Infinity Hills also proposes private wells, raising another major concern. A Board member familiar with the area described difficulties obtaining water locally, including deep wells with relatively low production. The proposed study appeared to focus on wells within approximately a quarter-mile of the property. The Board questioned whether that area is large enough. How much water will approximately 160 homes require? What about summertime demand? What happens during drought? Could pumping affect neighboring wells? Can the property reliably produce the water the development needs without affecting surrounding properties? These questions require data, not assurances.
The land, wetlands and drainage
The physical characteristics of the property present another set of questions. Wetlands, drainage and the configuration of the land were discussed during the meeting. The underlying issue is straightforward: Can 160 homes, roads, utilities, recreational facilities, wastewater infrastructure and stormwater controls actually be placed on this property without creating unacceptable environmental impacts? This is one of the fundamental questions the EIS must answer. The proposed wastewater discharge also raises concerns beyond the property itself because the receiving stream connects to the larger watershed, including the Neversink River and ultimately the Delaware water shed system. Environmental impacts do not stop at a property line.
Traffic and road safety
Traffic is another concern. Board members questioned whether older traffic counts are adequate and whether new counts should be conducted. They also discussed traffic patterns involving Church Road, Old North Mill Road and Dennison Road, including steep sections and a history of accidents. The issue is not simply how many vehicle trips, 160 homes will generate. The community needs to know where those vehicles will travel and whether the existing road system can safely handle them.
Children, recreation and electricity
The proposed recreational facilities and waterways also raised child-safety concerns, including the need for fencing or other protections around potentially dangerous areas.
The Board also questioned whether the local electric system has sufficient capacity and whether NYSEG, the electric utility, should be consulted. These may appear to be separate issues, but together they illustrate the larger question surrounding Infinity Hills: Can the area’s infrastructure safely and reliably support a development of this size? Water, wastewater, roads, electricity, drainage and safety all have to work, not just when the development opens, but for years afterward.
The property’s history should not be forgotten
Infinity Hills is not the first proposal for this property. A previous developer conducted substantial studies of the land and identified numerous problems and constraints associated with development. This history should not disappear simply because a new applicant has arrived with a different proposal. The wetlands have not changed. The drainage patterns have not changed. The geology and water-bearing formations have not changed. The roads and surrounding environmental conditions have not changed just because the name on the application has changed. This raises an important question: What did the previous studies identify, and how has Infinity Hills addressed those problems? These earlier studies should be obtained, compared with the current proposal and addressed point by point in the EIS. If previous investigations identified significant constraints, the public deserves to see evidence explaining why those concerns have been resolved or why they remain.
Real questions
The August 13 Planning Board meeting demonstrated an important change: the Board is now asking questions that need answers before this project moves forward.
• Can the wells on this property provide enough water?
• Can the package plant safely handle wastewater for decades?
• What happens if the treatment plant fails?
• Who will pas when private infrastructure fails?
• Could the neighboring wells be affected?
• Can wetlands, drainage and storm water be adequately managed?
• Can the surrounding roads safely handle the additional traffic?
• How will children be protected around recreational areas and waterways?
• Is there sufficient electric capacity?
• What did earlier developers learn about this property that the public has not yet fully seen?
These are precisely the questions an Environmental Impact Statement is supposed to answer with studies, data, engineering, documentation, alternatives and enforceable protections. Mountaindale deserves answers before the 160 homes are built. Fallsburg needs additional housing. But that is a different question from determining whether this particular property can safely accommodate this particular development.
The positive SEQR declaration tells us that the environmental questions are significant enough to require a full EIS. So perhaps the most important question is not whether Infinity Hills can find a way to make the project work. It is this: Does this property actually have the capacity to support Infinity Hills without creating environmental and infrastructure problems that Fallsburg residents will have to live with or eventually pay for? Before the history of this land is forgotten, there is one more question that deserves an answer: What did previous developers learn about this property, and have those problems really been solved? Changing the name on the proposal does not erase its history.
Fallsburg's Future is a community network of concerned Fallsburg residents established in January 2016. Its Mission is to help guide the urban development of the town of Fallsburg and its five hamlets, to promote its sustainable economic development, protect the fragile beauty of its natural habitats and enhance the opportunities and quality of life for all its residents and visitors. We hope to curb the suburban sprawl that is threatening to overwhelm the town’s physical infrastructure and destroy the natural beauty that the area depends on for its future development. See us on Facebook and our website Fallsburgsfuture.com.