Upper Saranac Lake marina expansion: Feedback sought on completed plan

Proposal has stirred controversy as marina developers eye second expansion in Saranac Lakes Chain

By Zachary Matson

The second marina expansion proposed in recent years on the Saranac Lakes Chain by the same development team is nearly set to be considered by Adirondack Park Agency commissioners and the public is invited to provide feedback on it.

An application to overhaul the old Hickok’s Boat Livery on Fish Creek Ponds near a state campground is complete after over 18 months of back-and-forth between marina developers and APA and state Department of Environmental Conservation staff.

The plan by USL Marina LLC, open for public comment until April 25, calls for installing a floating dock system and expanding the marina capacity to 92 boat slips for rent. Public comments can be sent to John Burth at RPcomments@apa.ny.gov.

The developers assert that the marina contained 71 preexisting boat slips and that the overhaul will improve boater access and safety and is an environmental benefit. 

Opponents of the plan, though, contend those numbers overstate any historic usage at the marina site and that the plan is too big for the area, which connects to Upper Saranac Lake through a channel.

Longtime visitors have also attested that Hickok’s primarily rented canoes, rowboats and small fishing boats with outboard motors, not the 22-foot motorboats that could be using the new facility.

APA has already received dozens of public comments, mostly against the plan. Many people who said they have visited Fish Creek Campgrounds for decades or own property on the ponds raised concerns that the marina would increase boat traffic, create safety risks, harm wildlife and detract from their enjoyment of the connected ponds that lead to Upper Saranac. 

“I don’t feel that all of the people, including myself, that have treasured this area should give it up to increased motor noise, more rough water caused by boat wakes and dangerous increased traffic,” wrote Tina Sorell. 

A handful of commenters said they supported the project and the economic activity it represents. Some others said they saw the benefit of upgrading the docks and offering maintenance and gas service but that they think a smaller expansion is enough. 

“There is a need for the services they are offering but not of the scale they are proposing,” wrote Joe Rollins, of Pennsylvania, who said he has visited the ponds since the 1960s. “They are located on a pond, and the scale of their operation should reflect the size of body of water they are located on — not bodies of water that are nearby.”

Matt Norfolk, a Lake Placid attorney representing the marina, in a statement to the Explorer said much of the criticism was “just another thing to throw at the proverbial wall… to see what sticks” and argued that their studies show the marina expansion will do little to increase overall boat traffic in Fish Creek channel or Upper Saranac Lake.

Norfolk described the old docks as in a “critical stage of dilapidation,” unsafe and less protective of aquatic vegetation and other environmental factors than modern structures. He said the marina was an “important, needed asset for the local economy” that provided jobs and tourism.

“We are confident that we have designed a state-of-the-art, environmentally-friendly, beneficial community asset that will assure boating access to Upper Saranac Lake for generations to come,” Norfolk said. “Without the needed improvements the future of the only marina on Upper Saranac Lake is in jeopardy.”

Environmental groups have also lined up against the project, arguing APA should treat it as a new use — not an expansion of a preexisting use — and that the agency cannot evaluate the project without first studying the ability of the interconnected water bodies to sustain different uses, especially motorized boats. 

The proposal has undergone numerous changes since the developers first filed plans with the APA in 2022. Changes eliminated many of the proposed covered docks, which would have necessitated a variance.

Around a dozen separate short docks that hug the shoreline would be removed, while a covered section would be replaced with a new covered dock section in a similar location.

The marina would include five docks, ranging in length from 40 feet to 196 feet. Slips would be concentrated along four of the docks, each housing 20 to 26 boats. Most slips would fit 22-foot boats, while two slips are big enough for 36-foot boats, according to marina plans. 

The DEC and APA sought more information through the application process, including about the planned use of rental boats and evidence of historic usage. USL Marina responded that details about the number, size and type of rental boats were trade secrets that should not be made public. Those details were not disclosed in application materials released under FOIL requests.

USL Marina in March sued environmental nonprofit Adirondack Wild and the Adirondack Explorer magazine, alleging an advertisement from Adirondack Wild in the magazine’s November/December issue was defamatory. Both of the nonprofits have filed motions to dismiss the case, arguing the marina’s complaint did not establish they acted with “actual malice,” the standard to prove a defamation claim involving high profile issues or people. The dismissal motions also cited the state’s anti-SLAPP law, which further protects speech in cases involving public permits and other civic participation.   

Marina developers claim recent win as court cases continue in previous marina

The marina proposed for Fish Creek Ponds would be the second expanded facility by the development team, which also includes Lake Placid-area realtor Mike Damp. 

In June, the APA  approved the marina developer’s plans to cover new docks at the Saranac Lake Marina in Crescent and Ampersand bays on Lower Saranac Lake. That project was also the center of concerted opposition and extended litigation. An earlier APA permit had been annulled by the Supreme Court Appellate Division, Third Judicial Department, over the agency’s failure to follow its wetlands regulations.

Former DEC Commissioner Thomas Jorling, who owns property near the marina site, also challenged that project on the grounds that APA and DEC had never conducted the lake capacity studies, which are mentioned in the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan. While the Appellate Division tossed the earlier permit over the wetlands determination, it also called the lack of capacity studies “inexplicable.”

After APA issued the new approval last year, determining that changes to the dock layout removed the need for a wetlands permit, Protect the Adirondacks and Adirondack Wild sued the marina and APA over the agency’s approval of new dock covers. 

A Warren County judge earlier this week dismissed part of the environmental groups’ complaints and ruled that the marina installed the docks in “good faith upon the APA’s authority.” The case is ongoing over remaining parts of the complaint.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to include more details about how to submit public comments.

Related reading

• Upper Saranac marina docked, awaiting complete application
• Saranac marina supporters call for APA approval 
• Santa Clara tables vote on marina plans
• APA approves dock covers at Saranac Lake Marina
• Saranac Lake Marina proposed expansion spurs questions on precedent