Morning Read: Last minute Big Tupper permit changes spark anxiety
Jessica Collier has been laser beam focused on the Adirondack Club and Resort deliberations this week. Check out here blog here. She also picked up yesterday on the fact that last-minute changes to the proposed permits for the project sparked anxiety.
Those changes remove specific language that shapes the development into phases. Instead, it breaks different aspects of the project into separate permits.
Collier’s article highlighted one of the key concerns that critics of the project have raised.
[APA commissioner Arthur] Lussi, a resort developer himself, said he’s worried that not having phasing requirements means 14 different contractors could buy each section of the project and start developing them; then if each fails, it would leave a lot of unused infrastructure on the property.
[APA attorney Sarah] Reynolds and APA counsel John Banta said that’s possible, but it may be more appropriate to leave that up to the Franklin County Industrial Development Agency, which would issue bonds for the projects in the four phases.
Despite these concerns, the APA is expected to vote to approve the project later today in Ray Brook.
Tags: adirondack club and resort, adirondacks, apa, economy, land use
How last minute are these changes? Like yesterday?
Abolish the APA! This entire process has been an incredible waste for all parties. They ask an applicant four times for information on wildlife, don’t get it, call the application complete, then tell the board it’s approvable. Why even ask for the additional information then? Abolish the APA! They robbed Mr. Foxman and wasted our taxpayer money when essentially, they are approving the same application from SEVEN years ago! Most of the conditions are standard language. The APA is now only a self serving agency. They require enough paperwork to maintain their jobs, yet accomplish nothing! In this era of streamlining gov’t, lets get rid of this agency and put it in the hands of local review boards. The only accomplishment of the APA is draining a developer of his money. They eventually get the permit they want but they are required to pay the salries of all the staff at APA first, by filling out a pile of paperwork thats over 40 feet high!
Last minute changes? We’ve been seeing last minute changes for the past seven yrs from these so called developers. This is nothing new. Where did all these new financial projections come from at Thursdays meeting, they certainly don’t appear to have come from the Hearing record which is what the commissioners are supposed to base their decision on. Brian, dig a little, find out how these new figures suddenly appeared.