Looking back, Lynn Butler said she should have agreed to sell her home on Andrews Road to a developer years ago instead of engage in a battle of wills and of legal professionals to protect the local environment and her quality of life.

"I didn't want to sell it at the time," she said, leaning against a fence on the property line. "I was asked to sell it. I'm one of the few people left."

Now, she does not think she would be able to sell her home for very much since construction of a 670-acre, 30-home subdivision is well underway on all sides of her property. So, she is digging in.

The developer's most recent build is a 120-foot-long barn, almost complete and butting right up against Butler's 20 acres that Crawford town officials told the developer not to build.

"They issued the citation and the 'stop work' order," Butler said with a shoulder shrug, "but they've ignored it."

On August 30, the town building inspector issued a 'stop work' order for the barn, because the builder had not been granted a building permit.

The developer, Zeke Alenick of Farmhood Fields, LLC, said through his attorney that the project is an agricultural subdivision in which residents would live off the land. The farming aspect exempts the company from some local laws.

Alenick pushed the issue further by ignoring the order to cease construction. His attorney said over the phone on Monday that Alenick had already applied for the permits, thought he was going to receive them, and started work on the barn in August before they were issued.

The workers defied the August 30 'stop work' order because Alenick was planning to file an appeal with the Town of Crawford Board of Zoning Appeals making it "fine" to continue work in the meantime, Alenick's attorney said.

Alenick is due in Crawford Town Court on Tuesday on the violation.

He could face fines, but it is unclear if he can be forced to tear down the barn structure.

Even though town officials made clear the barn was not supposed to be built, the Town of Crawford Planning Board appears to be legitimizing the project before the permit issues are cleared up.

The board is holding a hearing October 9 on whether the barn fits with the landscape of the Route 302 scenic overlook toward the Shawangunk Mountains.

Butler's attorney, Bruce Dunn, questioned the process when reached by phone Monday afternoon.

"It's unusual, in my experience, for anyone to violate a 'stop work' order," Dunn said, "and then for what they've done to have any credence with the local government."

Dunn said he intends to see what happens in court on Tuesday and at October's planning board meeting before deciding his and Butler's next steps. He said they could end up asking another court to review the town's policies on development.