Mission Statement
ROSA’s mission is to represent the interests of area residents in their demand for a safe, legal, sustainable, and well planned land use solution for the Patrick Farm property; a plan that will protect our shared water supply, the environment and the character of the community.
ROSA’s vision is to provide 'best practice’ support to our membership, along with our like-minded groups, looking to find reasonable and sustainable solutions that protect water supplies and community character.
Description
ROSA is a nonprofit organization comprised of informed and engaged citizens who are represented by environmental, engineering and legal experts. ROSA represents the interests of area residents relying upon donations to support its outreach and legal efforts toward the protection of our shared water supply, the environment, and aspects of community character such as population density, view shed protection, traffic flow, road safety, property values, and historic preservation.
A massive high-density, multi-family housing development is planned at the crossroads of Routes 202 and 306 on the forested, historic 208-acre Patrick Farm property. The proposed community will sit above a water source, which is part of a federally protected sole source aquifer that supplies water to you and all of our neighbors. The aquifer is vitally important because it provides water to a region so vast it crosses state lines. If built, the quality and quantity of our private wells and public water will be compromised. This enormous project is a threat to the quality of life in our community, as we know it. Our drinking water, the streams that flow through our properties, and the ability of all of us to travel with relative ease locally, will be forever changed.
ROSA (Ramapo Organized for Sustainability and a Safe Aquifer) is a group of concerned neighbors from the Town of Ramapo and surrounding communities who value the quality of life, natural beauty, character of our community, and the remaining open spaces in a residential area that is already crowded. Although we are not anti-development, ROSA values land preservation and open community spaces. We are concerned because the town’s last remaining open space and a primary source of drinking water are being threatened by a disproportionately scaled and inappropriately situated housing project.
We are united to say "no" to an ill-conceived and out-of-place development that will violate the existing harmony of our community. Our group insists that the Town of Ramapo, which is entrusted with the health, safety and welfare of the entire community, properly evaluate and consider this project adhere to all local, state and federal laws and regulations. In particular, in addition to the aquifer, wetlands, and bio-diversity on the property, the town must consider the potential complications and hazards posed by the Columbia Gas Pipeline, which runs directly underneath this planned high density housing complex
