Hotel Hubbub

WINDHAM - A local hotelier is asking the Windham town board to closely insert itself in an ongoing planning board review of a new hotel being proposed by the Windham Mountain Club.

John Flannigan, owner of Wylder Windham, the former Thomson House resort, has penned a letter to town supervisor Thomas Hoyt as part of continuing opposition to the WMC project.

The ski slope has submitted an amendment to its original development Master Plan, approved two years ago by the planning board.

Initial approval included 60-plus townhouses, coming only after a separate development agreement was signed between the town and Windham Mountain Partners involving intense negotiations.

The agreement focused primarily on the number of non-member skiers the WMC would welcome, and on what days, amidst a similar wave of opposition getting voiced by local business owners.

WMC unveiled its original development Master Plan in the summer of 2023 following a change in majority ownership and a shift toward greater privatization, such as the limits on skier numbers.

Their message to potential patrons of saying “goodbye” to old Windham and hello to a more exclusive clientele, struck an economic nerve embedded deeply in a generationally-rooted tourism town.

Flannigan has emerged as the voice and face of the latest conflict, being joined by as many as four other major hoteliers expressing worries.

They made their presence known in July surrounding a planning board public hearing on the WMC amendment which would eliminate some townhouses in favor of the 26-room boutique hotel.

Flannigan, at that time, opined that the WMC hotel would, “become a direct competitor to the independent lodging businesses that have invested in Windham for decades and is inconsistent with the character and long-term vision of Windham.

“The result would be lasting negative economic consequences for those businesses and, ultimately, for the diversity and character of the Town itself,” Flannigan wrote.

“For these reasons, I respectfully urge the Planning Board to deny the proposed amendment to the Master Plan…” Flannigan wrote.

The planning board, since May, has been conducting a mandated State Environmental Quality Review (SEQRA) on the amendment, focusing largely on issues regarding water, traffic, viewscape, etc.

There is also a clause in the SEQRA process related to possible impacts on community character, an area the Greene County Planning Board commented on in a standard 239-M review of the project.

On the question of “Community Character,” county planners stated, “the proposed amendment replaces previously approved residential development with lodging and rental units that are consistent with the character of a resort-based community.

“The introduction of a hotel and associated rental units supports the area's identity as a recreational and tourism destination,” the county stated.

“Although the density and intensity of use may differ from the originally approved residential lots, the overall character remains aligned with the existing resort setting and is not expected to adversely affect the surrounding area,” the county stated.

Windham planners, in mid-August, appeared ready to move forward on giving the okay to the WMC amendment, working with special counsel brought in to assist in the complex process.

Two planning board members have publicly stated that nothing has been presented to stall the amendment, statements that Finnegan says are “deeply concerning” and have lead directly to his letter to Hoyt.

And umbrage is being taken with the WMC already advertising the multi-million dollar hotel, inviting occupancies in 2028.

“I have never seen a hotel developer launch a full marketing operation and hire personnel to sell a hotel before obtaining the necessary entitlements and planning board approvals,” Finnegan writes.

Flannigan has further asked the town to intervene in the process due to the recusal of three planning board members with work or membership connections to the WMC.

Their withdrawal leaves the decision on what has become a controversial and meaningful issue in the hands of only three members.

Supervisor Hoyt, in a phone interview, acknowledged receipt of the letter, saying the ongoing review is, “out of the purview of the town board.”

“It would be inappropriate for me to comment on any application in front of the planning board,” Hoyt said, emphasizing Flannigan’s letter has been forwarded to the planning board for the official record.