LAKE GEORGE-Three Warren County town governments joined a rising tide of dissent this week, as they unanimously passed separate resolutions against new feeder stream setback regulations proposed by the Lake George Park Commission.
The town boards of Lake George, Warrensburg and Hague voted this week to officially oppose the proposed regulations -- alongside the Town of Bolton, which passed a similar resolution last week. Wednesday, the Warrensburg Town Board voted unanimously against the setback rules, following Hague's vote Tuesday and Lake George Town Board's "Nay" vote on Monday.
The regulations, however, are supported by a long list of
environmental groups as well as individual area residents, who say
they are vital in protecting the water quality of Lake George and
its associated waterways.
If enacted, clearing of vegetation would be forbidden on property
that is 50 feet from the high-water mark of any stream which feeds
into Lake George. Further, very limited vegetation clearing would be
allowed within an additional 50 feet from the streams.
"These regulations would greatly devalue private property in town,"
Councilman Scott Wood said Monday. "Over 2,200 parcels or roughly 22
percent of the private property in Lake George would be negatively
affected."
The Park Commission has proposed the new regulations in order to
preserve the lake's water quality - which has been compromised,
Commission officials said, by a boom of hillside construction
projects in recent years. According to the Commission, phosphorus
levels are on the rise resulting in algae blooms which devastate
aquatic life by reducing oxygen levels.
In their resolution, the Lake George Town Board argued that the Park
Commission has no concrete scientific data to justify the assertion
that increased algae blooms are a direct result of development
adjacent to feeder streams. Further, the town board argued that the
Commission did not consult with the communities that would be
(Continued on Next Page)
Prev Next
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID