William J. Kemble reports in the Daily Freeman about a local development battle, this one over the 840-acre Winston Farm, the Saugerties site that hosted the 1994 Woodstock music festival. Developers want to split it into 14 estate parcels, with 66 single-family homes, a village area with 57 single-family units, 13 cabins, a commercial area, a boutique hotel, a hotel with a water park, an amphitheater with an events center, and a campground. Others are hoping the land can be preserved, and want the Open Space Institute to step in and buy the property instead. But Saugerties Supervisor Fred Costello says that probably won't happen. “It’s not the first time there’s been outreach by members of the Saugerties community to get them to consider the property,” Costello said. “In the past, they’ve waved it off.” Open Space Institute Communications Director Siobhan Gallagher Kent admitted that there have been discussions but would not say how serious talks have gotten. Kent said, “We’re always interested in conserving land whenever it becomes available but right now it would really be not appropriate for me to comment on what we’ve done or not done on a particular property.” Winston Farm spokesperson Joshua Sommers, meanwhile, said that the owners “remain committed to their proposals.” Costello is now suggesting starting a program similar to one in Red Hook's zoning establishing a fund for the purchase of development rights. Costello said, “Maybe there’s an opportunity for a synergy between all parties.... Developers would get (the) privilege to develop certain areas of the property that the data tells us would be least impactful but achieves those goals of housing opportunities and job opportunities.” Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.