ADIRONDACK COUNCIL
ASKS WHY TUPPER LAKE RESORT DEVELOPER
WON'T REVEAL REASONS FOR EXTENDED DELAYS,
WON'T COMMUNICATE WITH LIKELY HEARING PARTIES
Disputes Developer's
Claim that He Had Meaningful Contact with Council
For more information:
Scott Lorey
518-432-1770 (ofc)
Released, Tuesday, August 21, 2007
TUPPER LAKE, N.Y. - The Adirondack
Council and local landowners have sent a formal reply a NYS administrative
law judge disputing claims by a would-be Tupper Lake resort developer
that he has made progress in negotiations with any of the parties
to a courtroom-style public hearing slated to begin next month.
"In his written update to the Adirondack Park Agency judge
last week, the developer's attorney provided little or no justification
for the summer-long delay in the start of the formal public hearing,"
said Brian L. Houseal, Executive Director of the Adirondack Council,
an environmental organization.
The developer is Preserve Associates, the Pennsylvania-based
limited liability corporation proposing to build a 700-unit resort
on the slopes of the defunct Big Tupper Ski Center and on 6,000
acres of forest around it.
"The developer also makes it seem as if he had communicated
in some meaningful way with this organization," Houseal
said. "The developer contacted us, but we advised him that
there were several other organizations, local residents and landowners
who are likely parties to the hearing, who also needed to be
part of any out-of-court negotiations. That was about a week
before the deadline for this update. That's the last we heard
from him."
In its response this week, the Adirondack Council's attorney
Marc Gerstman urged the judge to require Preserve Associates
to provide more details on the reasons for the delays in the
start of the public hearing. The hearing is being held by the
Adirondack Park Agency (APA), whose board of commissioners will
decide the fate of the proposed development based on its staff's
report on the outcome of the still-on-hold public hearing. The
APA has identified 10 separate issues that must be resolved before
the permit can be considered by its commissioners.
The pre-hearing conference is now slated for September 21, when
interested persons and organizations can petition for "party
status," which would allow them to introduce evidence, call
expert witnesses and cross-examine any witnesses for the developer.
Originally, the initial portions of the hearing were set to begin
in April, but the hearing has been delayed twice at the request
of the developer. At this stage of the permit review process,
the developer can remove potentially troublesome features from
the development plan, but he cannot otherwise alter the plan
without starting the entire process again. The Adirondack Council
and other parties have already consented to both delays in the
start of the hearing, although they weren't required to agree.
Among other things, the developer was supposed to provide progress
reports to the APA on his efforts to obtain wastewater permits
from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and sewer
system permits from the NYS Department of Health. The progress
report only indicates that materials were submitted. It doesn't
say whether progress toward those permits was made.
"…We ask that Preserve Associates be required to provide
a list of additional materials submitted to each agency; an explanation
as to whether the outstanding permit applications are now deemed
complete; and, a proposed schedule for submission of the remaining
items," the Council's attorney wrote to the judge. "We
believe that this information is necessary to evaluate any further
requests for adjournment or other accommodation by Preserve Associates."
Houseal explained: "Despite our frustration with the current
developer, we stand ready to work with local officials on a realistic
plan to reopen Big Tupper. But the developer needs to show that
he is willing to work with all parties to find common ground.
"The developer's current plan is a whale in a bathtub,"
Houseal said. "It's too big and too risky for this community.
Tupper is a great town. It could be even better with a stable,
affordable winter-recreation attraction. That can happen without
700 new condos and gated McMansions. It's time for Tupper to
consider other options."
The Adirondack Council's mission is to ensure the ecological
integrity and wild character of the Adirondack Park. Founded
in 1975, the Council is a privately funded not-for-profit organization
with members in all 50 United States. The Council carries out
its missions through research, education, advocacy and legal
action.
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