LYME, New York (WWNY) – “It’s breathtaking honestly. I never thought in a million years we would own a piece of property with this much waterfront. We are not going to keep it to ourselves, we are going to share it,” said Sara Bennett.
Bennett and her family have big plans to share a piece of land in the Town of Lyme with many visitors.
Working alongside her two siblings and husband, the group is aiming to open an event center with a 250 person banquet hall and cabins for guests and performers.
A staple on the property will be a 75 foot tall sally port, a landmark that Sara’s husband K.C. knows well from his time in the military.
“They’re military structures that guard an entrance, so whenever you get dropped off in your vehicle before you enter the event center, you will be looking out at this view, so Sally Port View is the name of the venture,” said K.C. Bennett.
They are hoping to host a variety of events like weddings, proms and banquets, and in doing so, they will need to bring in some local businesses to help make it happen.
“We’re gonna need a cleaning crew to come in, we’re gonna need DJs, eventually we hope to start doing bands so we will obviously need bands to come in,” said Erica Behling, one of the project planners.
While there has been a lot of support for the project, there has been some opposition.
On Tuesday, some residents voiced their concerns at the town’s planning board meeting.
“I personally don’t think fireworks should be allowed, I think that’s really something intrusive to everyone who lives around there. No later than 9 o’clock, I would think. Even sun down, that the band music be confined to the building,” said one concerned party at the meeting.
After a 3 hour meeting, the site was approved under conditions of no outdoor noise past 10 o’clock and for extra trees to be planted to try and help reduce ambient noise.
Bennett says she and her family have taken everyone’s concerns into consideration throughout this process.
“We want to be transparent with everyone, we are a part of this community, we don’t want to be a nuisance,” said Sara Bennett.
Bennett says once they get some final approvals from the state, they plan to break ground this fall and be up and running by next summer.
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