By Gwendolyn Craig
Lake George stormwater regulations, a North Elba housing development and a cell tower are on the agenda for the Adirondack Park Agency’s upcoming monthly meeting.
The board will also consider enforcement action involving a Town of Wells property.
The two-day meeting will start at noon on Thursday, Feb. 11. To view listen in to the board meeting online go to https://tinyurl.com/AgencyMeetingFeb2021Thu or call 1-518-549-0500 Access code: 179 352 6489. Public comments may be submitted via email to agencymeeting.publiccomment@apa.ny.gov. To view the agendas and relevant records for this meeting, go to https://apa.ny.gov/Mailing/2021/02/index.htm.
Lake George stormwater regulations
The APA board will review stormwater regulation amendments proposed by the Lake George Park Commission. The changes involve timber harvesting, erosion control plans, fertilizer applications and stormwater retrofit requirements. David Wick, executive director of the Park Commission, will present.
These proposed regulations are intended to protect the water quality of Lake George. The amendments have been slow-going, delivered to Albany officials from the Lake George Park Commission over a year ago. The Park Commission has held several public comment opportunities over the summer and fall.
The changes will need to get approved by the APA board. The board is expected to vote on Thursday.
Housing development and cell tower
The APA Regulatory Committee and Board is slated to approve a four-story North Elba housing complex by Regan Development, part of housing plans in the region in anticipation of the 2023 World University Games.
The complex will include 60 units, 40 of them one-bedroom and 20 of them two-bedroom. The draft APA permit shows the footprint of the project is 19,000 square feet and 60 feet tall. There will also be parking for up to 90 cars.
Also up for consideration is the approval of a 120-foot-tall Verizon Wireless cell tower in the Town of Inlet in Hamilton County. The tower site is on State Route 28 and will be made to look like a pine tree. In planning documents, Verizon and its partners state that the height of the tower is the minimum requirement to cover Inlet, Eagle Bay and the surrounding areas.
The Adirondack Council is opposed to the tower. The organization believes it fails a visibility test APA is required to consider for structures over a certain height. The council also noted the tower will be seen from several sites in the Adirondack Park including rom parts of Fourth Lake and Fifth Lake.
Hinckley Intensive Use Area
During the State Lands Committee, the public will hear from the state Department of Environmental Conservation with an update on an amendment to the Hinckley Intensive Use Area Unit Management Plan.
The day-use area is in the Town of Russia in Herkimer County. Some of the proposed management actions include constructing around 3 miles of roads, 150 campsites, four comfort stations, a multiuse trail system, a pavilion at Price’s Point and a playground day-use area.
The DEC will also look to the APA to put the amendment out for public comment.
Enforcement
On Friday, the APA’s enforcement committee will hear a proceeding against Joseph and Joy Cotazino “for alleged construction of a deck attached to a single-family dwelling within the shoreline setback of Lake Algonquin,” in Hamilton County.
The APA had originally provided a proposed settlement agreement in August 2019 to the Cotazinos, which involved removing the deck and paying a civil penalty of $1,000. The Cotazinos did not accept and the APA issued a notice of apparent violation. APA staff are recommending that the enforcement committee have the Cotazinos remove the deck and issue a penalty.
The enforcement committee will meet at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 12.
I’m against the proposal for making the Hinckley Reservoir Day Use Area s campground.
I live just off Route 365 which is the main transportation road to this area. The amount of trash thrown along the road from visitors to this area is embarrassing. It took me 6 months of letter writing to get the state to put up a no littering sign. There are also a number of people operating ATV’s along this state highway.-it’s against the law! I’ve contacted our state senator, police and the town but no one seems to care.
I can’t imagine what additional violations will occur with increased traffic to this area, I’m sure the state will be as cavalier toward new infractions as they have with current ones.
As a resident, who pays high taxes, I don’t want it
Good luck trying to clean up litter I live in Lake George Village. There are trash cans everywhere and the people just litter the streets. It just shows us what kind of people out there that just do t care. SAD.