TUPPER LAKE, NY (AP) -- The Adirondack Park Agency is beginning public hearings on a major year-round resort and residential development proposed for the village of Tupper Lake.
Local business leaders call the proposed Adirondack Club & Resort vital to the region's economy. Environmental groups, including the Adirondack Council, have voiced concerns about storm water and erosion control, wastewater treatment, and potential adverse impacts on forest health and wildlife.
The project's developers, Preserve Associates, want to rebuild the Big Tupper Ski Area with more than 600 housing units on more than 6,000 acres, plus a spa, marina, and equestrian center. The development, first proposed in 2006, would be phased in over several years.
Wednesday's hearings are scheduled for the afternoon and evening at L.P. Quinn Elementary School in Tupper Lake. More hearings are planned through June.
Investors in the project located 110 miles north of Albany include Michael Foxman, president of a Philadelphia-area investment group.
The resort plan has been a contentious issue, with local boosters seeking to exclude the Adirondack Council and Protect the Adirondacks from the public hearings, saying the environmental groups are outsiders seeking to kill the project.
Tupper Lake Chamber of Commerce President Douglas Wright and Jim LaValley, chairman of ARISE, Adirondack Residents Intent on Saving their Economy, have requested that the environmental groups recuse themselves from the APA hearings.
Brian Houseal, executive director of the Adirondack Council, said the group has a legitimate role as a party to the formal review of the project.
"Its impact would be felt far beyond Tupper Lake," Houseal said. "Its size and scope require expert assistance, which we intend to provide at no cost to the taxpayers."
The council has hired the civil engineering firm of C.T. Male and Associates to testify on the developer's proposed plans for storm water and erosion control, wastewater treatment, drinking water and other water issues.
The Wildlife Conservation Society will testify on forest and wildlife impacts. The council has also hired landscape architects and land-use planners to provide expert testimony.
"One of the issues is proper phasing to guarantee that the project is built from the ski center outwards," Houseal said. "This will ensure that roads, utilities and other subdivision infrastructure are concentrated in appropriate areas and don't needlessly damage the environment and cost the town money to maintain in the future."
The council also opposes plans to build so-called "Great Camps" on 25- to 50-acre lots that would fragment the backcountry.
A large crowd was expected at the hearing, with ARISE recruiting residents and local officials from across the Adirondack Park to speak out in favor of the project. Several towns and villages in the region have passed resolutions in support of the project.
(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
