No public vote on debated road

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September 24, 2009

Public hearing set on Old Mountain Road

By KIM SMITH DEDAM The Press Republican Thu Sep 24, 2009, 11:28 PM EDT

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KEENE — In a special meeting Thursday, the Keene Town Council decided not to put recreational-use options of Old Mountain Road to public vote.

The roughly three-mile historic mountain pass, built in the early 1800s, is at the center of impassioned public scrutiny, as Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Alexander Grannis ruled in May that it remains town property.

Grannis's decision followed a series of court decisions, ending enforcement action by DEC lawyers against Lake Placid Snowmobile Club President James McCulley.

Grannis's decision has been questioned by the Adirondack Park Agency, DEC staff and the Adirondack Council, all of which submitted legal requests for clarification.

The decision technically allows motorized use of the road, now an overgrown trail typically used in winter for skiing, hiking and an occasional snow machine.

'OWN RISK'
Ruling in hand, North Elba and Keene are moving toward formal corridor management from one side and the other.

On Thursday night, Keene issued a public-hearing notice to the two neighboring property owners — DEC and a lodge/guide service — for "qualified abandonment" of Old Mountain, Keene Town Supervisor William Ferebee said Friday.

That removes the town from legal liability and road maintenance, he said.

"We would not be held to do maintenance on the road and, therefore, if someone chooses to use that road, they would do so at their own risk."

The public hearing is set for 5:45 p.m. Oct. 6.

LOCAL LAW
Town councilors decided not to bring the road's use to public vote.

"We considered going to a proposition, but we just feel that the way the proposition would be written would be very confusing," Ferebee said. "We've decided, as a town board, we will instead draft a local law as to the use of Old Mountain Road."

New laws have to go before voters at a public hearing, he said.

"We are working on the verbiage of the law now. We would like to have this completed by the end of the year."

MOTORIZED USE
Among considerations in the Keene law is motorized access during big-game hunting season from mid-October to December.

But ATV use would likely be challenged on the North Elba end of the road.

"If they (Keene) agree to allow all-terrain-vehicle traffic, the consensus of my board is that would not be a permitted use," North Elba Town Supervisor Roby Politi said. "We see its recreational use for cross-country skiing, hiking, even mountain biking or horseback riding."

'NO PROBLEMS'
Tony Goodwin, director of the Adirondack Ski Touring Council, which has maintained the road as a ski trail for decades, said the road has seen motorized use before.

"There was some hunting-season use of ATVs on the first mile of the road in the early '90s, with no problems that I can recall. I am therefore confident that, given the limits imposed by the proposed law, there won't be any problems this time either.

"Obviously, we will monitor the situation and note any problems with conflicts or damage to the trail. The town board and others attending the meeting seemed committed to dealing with any abuse so that the privilege could continue."

TOWN RULE
Neither town expects Grannis will overturn local ownership rights by enacting Highway Law 212, which can absorb road property surrounded by state land.

"I think Commissioner Grannis made the decision not to intervene, and he's going to let the towns oversee the process," Politi said. "And I think that's the right thing to do.

"We're not abandoning ownership interest in that road. We've never abandoned that right and have no intention of doing so."

APA PRESSURE
Grannis's ruling is facing state and environmental challenges.

APA Chairman Curtis Stiles wrote to Grannis, saying "your determination fails to take into account the legal effect of the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan. As a result, it reaches the wrong conclusion and provides a precedent that could lead to years of unnecessary litigation and conflict over long-closed motor-vehicle roads."

The APA says state law does not support "transfer of legal responsibility and control of recreational use back to a town or towns in the face of the uncontested 1987 Master Plan."

Stiles urged Grannis toward a "decisive resolution" to "correct the mischaracterization" of the State Land Master Plan and urged him to enact Highway Law 212."

The Adirondack Council filed similar statements.

E-mail Kim Smith Dedam at: kdedam@pressrepublican.com