The 2026 Campground Application — Regularizing the Irregular

Context — What Changed Between 2024 and 2026

The May 2024 planning board denial of the expansion application and the October 2025 state health department fine of $46,400 did not end NYST's relationship with the Harpersfield Planning Board. They reset it.

The 2022–2024 application had sought broad expansion: a new mini-track, cars, extended hours, and 5–7 days per week of operation. That was denied in its entirety.^[1] The 2026 application is narrower and different in kind: it seeks site plan approval for a 16-site campground — framed not as new construction but as "regularizing" an existing operation.^[2]

That framing is significant. The applicant's own submission states the purpose of the application is "to regularize the existing campground" and "to establish a clear, enforceable framework for continued operation in accordance with the Town and State requirements."^[2] It is, in effect, a retroactive approval request for something that has been operating without authorization — and that the applicant had previously denied operating at all.

The DOH enforcement action, culminating in the $46,400 fine, created a conditional path forward: DOH approved certain improvements to the facility's water and wastewater systems, subject to conditions including local land use approval from the Town of Harpersfield.^[3] The campground application is, in part, the applicant's attempt to satisfy that condition.

The Town Strengthens Its Campground Law — Simultaneously

While the campground application was being prepared, the Town of Harpersfield was independently working to convert its existing campground ordinance into a local law with stronger enforcement teeth. Attorney Allyson Phillips — the same attorney who wrote the 2024 denial resolution and now represents the planning board in the campground review — drafted the resolution directing the town board to hold a public hearing on the proposed local law.^[4]

The public hearing was set for March 11, 2026.^[5] The March 2026 planning board meeting included a detailed training session with Code Enforcement Officer Chris Plante on the new law's provisions, which include:^[6]

• CEO authority to enter and inspect campground premises at any time
• Violations must be corrected within 10 days or the permit may be revoked
• Owner/operators must provide the CEO with a report within 24 hours of any illness, injury, or incident related to swimming pools, on-site potable water, or food service
• CEO report on any existing violations on a parcel is required before a permit may be issued
• Permit valid for one year and must be renewed annually
• Planning board and CEO review renewals and make recommendations to the town board

Walt Keller noted the new law needs to designate consistent terminology for who is enforcing it (code enforcement officer vs. building inspector) and that it must "whisker clean" — unambiguous enough to withstand legal challenge. The board voted 5-0 to approve the changes with those corrections noted.^[4]

April 2026 — New Application Filed; Board Engages Attorneys

At the April 29, 2026 planning board meeting, Chairman Dean Darling announced that Mountaintop Airfield LLC (NYSafety Track) had submitted an application for a site plan amendment to have a campground.^[2] Attorney Javid Afrari appeared on behalf of the applicant. Attorneys Allyson Phillips and James LaValle of Young & Sommer were present on behalf of the planning board.

Phillips provided an overview of the application and the full timeline of the site's prior applications, approvals, and denials — establishing the procedural record from the start. Her summary confirmed:^[2]

• Camping is currently prohibited on the site — it was never approved in 2011 or at any subsequent point
• Adding a campground is a new land use activity subject to site plan review under the Town's Site Plan Review Law
• The application requires a new wastewater treatment system and water supply, subject to SEQRA review
• The planning board intends to act as Lead Agency under SEQRA
• A draft resolution was prepared by Phillips requiring escrow, an engineering consultant, and a site visit before any substantive review begins

Afrari stated the campground is also subject to state regulations and approvals — he confirmed the applicant is currently going through that process at the state level. Phillips noted that DOH has already approved the design of certain improvements and is looking to the Town to issue the land use approval and coordinate with the state.^[2]

Darling confirmed that the planning board will need the state approvals as well before making its decision, and that nothing will be reviewed until the preliminary steps — specifically, the escrow — are in place.^[2]

April 29 Resolution — Escrow & Site Visit Required

The board adopted the Phillips-drafted resolution by a vote of 4-0 (Dusty King absent). The resolution is a detailed document that recites the full history of the site before establishing conditions for the review to proceed.^[2]

The resolution's findings section formally documents on the record:

The resolution formally resolves:^[2]

• The application is subject to SEQRA; the planning board intends to act as Lead Agency
• The planning board will require a land use attorney and engineer to assist with the review at the applicant's expense; the Town Attorney is directed to prepare an escrow agreement
• The escrow agreement must be approved and executed by the Town Board, and the escrow account funded at the levels required by the Town Board, before the planning board begins any review
• The planning board requires a site visit before any sketch plan conference is scheduled; the Town Attorney is directed to prepare an access agreement for this purpose

Members voting aye: Dean Darling (Chairman), Doug Cole, Walt Keller, Adam Gallagher. Absent: Dusty King.

The town had already received at least one written comment on the application, which Darling said would be held for submission with the public hearing comments.^[2]

May & June 2026 — Stalled on Escrow

At the May 20, 2026 meeting, Darling reported there had been no work from the attorney on the Mountaintop Airfield LLC application. The board cannot proceed until the escrow account is satisfied.^[7]

By the June 24, 2026 meeting, a new development: DOH had given Mountaintop Airfield permission to operate its campground facilities under a number of conditions — one of which is that the planning board approve the project.^[8] However, the escrow was still not in place.

The applicant had asked the town board to lower the required escrow amount. The town board established the escrow amount; the applicant disputed it. The planning board remained on hold, waiting for the escrow to be funded before beginning any substantive review.^[8]

July 2026 — Site Visit: More Than Disclosed

The escrow issue was apparently resolved sufficiently for the planning board to proceed to the site visit. At the July 29, 2026 meeting, planning board members — along with county planner Kristen Schneider and attorney James LaValle — conducted an in-person site visit at 396 Zimmerman Road. Attorney Javid Afrari represented the applicant on-site, with David Afrari also present.^[9]

This site visit, unlike the one attempted in 2023 (when the applicant blocked entry by requiring board members to sign liability waivers and disclose personal medical information), was successfully completed.

What the board found on the ground did not match what the application disclosed:

Additional concerns raised during and after the site visit:^[9]

• 55-gallon drums are present on the property — their contents and purpose are undisclosed and must be identified
• There are electrical hookups for 10 of the sites already in place; 6 of those are described as serviced by pre-existing hookups that must be noted accurately on the map
• The aerial photograph submitted with the application does not show all existing conditions and must be replaced with a current one
• An agricultural data statement is required and has not been provided
• Areas of potable water must be designated on the map
• An accurate reflection of all site conditions is required: hookups, electrical service, handicapped parking, and the drums
• An Environmental Assessment Form (EAF) for the Section 239 referral to the county planning board has not been provided

Afrari offered to provide photographs of campers hooked up at the site so board members could see what the setup looks like fully connected, or to schedule a return visit. The sketch plan review was tabled until the August meeting pending receipt of all the additional information.^[9]

D. King, who was unable to make the July site visit, was noted as a candidate to view the site separately, though Gallagher said it would not be a deal-breaker for him if that didn't happen.^[9]

August 2026 — Information Still Incomplete; Application on Hold

At the August 26, 2026 meeting, Darling reported that the additional information requested from Mountaintop Airfield had not been received. The board will take no action on the application until all requested materials are submitted at least five days prior to a planning board meeting.^[10]

Board member D. King, who had been absent from the July site visit, asked whether any of the plans for the campground showed the amperage of the electrical hookups. D. Cole confirmed that all hookups indicated 30 amps.^[10]

Significance

The 2026 campground application marks a different posture than prior NYST proceedings. Rather than seeking expansion or fighting enforcement, the applicant is attempting to bring an existing unauthorized use into compliance. Whether the planning board views this as a good-faith effort or a continuation of the pattern — build first, seek approval later — will likely determine how the review unfolds.

Several features of the 2026 proceeding track patterns from the earlier history:

• The site visit again found more on the ground than was represented in the application — a direct parallel to the 2023 hearings, where residents reported unauthorized construction and additional hangars
• Allyson Phillips is again representing the planning board, having now handled every major NYST proceeding since at least 2023
• The application's own language — "regularize the existing campground" — acknowledges what the $46,400 DOH fine had already established: the campground has been operating without authorization
• The escrow dispute repeats the pattern from 2023, when the track's failure to replenish the escrow was one of the grounds for denial
• The town simultaneously strengthened its campground enforcement law, meaning any permit issued will be subject to annual renewal, CEO inspection at any time, and a 10-day violation correction window before revocation

The internal collapse proceedings — the father-son lawsuits filed in April and June 2026 — are occurring in parallel with this application, raising an unresolved question: if the Queens County court grants David Lubinitsky's petition for judicial dissolution of NYST, or appoints a receiver, it is unclear who would have authority to proceed with or withdraw the campground application, which was filed by Mountaintop Airfield LLC rather than NYST LLC itself.