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For Immediate Release: January 10, 2008

Contact:
Keith P. McKeever | Public Relations | Adirondack Park Agency
contact@apa.ny.gov | (518) 891-4050


Adirondack Park Agency Announces Proactive Subdivision Enforcement Initiative


RAY BROOK, NY – Adirondack Park Agency Announces Proactive Subdivision Enforcement Initiative utilizing Statewide Real Estate Transaction Database to Track New Subdivisions to Find Violations.

Illegal subdivisions will be undone and civil penalties may be assessed.

Landowners in the Adirondack Park and professionals involved in land transactions in the Park are strongly encouraged to seek Agency jurisdictional advice before proceeding with subdivisions. The failure to do so may result in Agency enforcement action requiring the undoing of the subdivision along with penalties for violating the law.

Illegal subdivisions can result in adverse impacts to the Park’s natural resources, open space character, and community character as well as create potential public health risks. They also hurt innocent buyers who purchase the illegal lots and are faced with having to resolve the violations. The APA Act defines subdivisions broadly as the “division of land involving two or more lots, parcels, or sites whether adjoining or not for the purpose of sale, lease, license, or any form of separate ownership or occupancy.”

Governor Spitzer’s 2007 budget included resources to hire additional staff including two new enforcement officers. This allowed the Agency to restructure its enforcement division and assign two enforcement officers to proactively monitoring subdivisions on a monthly basis to discover violations. When violations are found, the seller and the buyer are required to undo their illegal subdivision, and may also have to pay penalties for their violation. Staff have begun using a statewide real estate transaction database to find new subdivisions in the Park. They then enter the tax parcel numbers for new subdivisions into the Agency’s Geographic Information System (GIS) to determine whether the subdivision may be a violation. When GIS indicates a potential violation, staff reviews agency files to determine whether the subdivision was authorized by the Agency. If not, the sellers and buyers in the potentially illegal subdivision are notified that an enforcement investigation is being undertaken.

Violations are pursued promptly to ensure that no environmental harm occurs to the land, that the land is not further subdivided, and that the illegal lots are not sold to innocent buyers. Whenever possible, staff require the illegal subdivision to be undone. In addition, they seek penalties under appropriate circumstances. If the violators do not cooperate, the violation is referred to the Agency’s Enforcement Committee for decision. The failure to comply with an Enforcement Committee decision may lead to court action brought by the Attorney General on the Agency’s behalf. Chairman Stiles stated, “This approach allows staff to identify potential subdivision violations before any inappropriate development is undertaken on illegal lots, and before any further subdivision or conveyance of illegal lots occurs. Enforcement staff will work with the original sellers and buyers ensuring those directly responsible are accountable. Significant environmental impacts as well as harm to future innocent purchasers will be avoided, and remediation costs minimized. The Agency will continue to assess civil penalties when appropriate. Our intent is to deter future violations”, he concluded. The Agency’s goal is to prevent illegal subdivisions from occurring. The need for this more proactive approach is underscored by the approximately 600 older subdivision violations currently on the Agency’s enforcement case docket. Many of these violations involve inappropriate development and/or further illegal subdivision. In the bulk of these violations, the illegal lots have been sold to innocent purchasers who now bear the burden of resolving a violation they did not commit. Only by stopping these violations from occurring, or finding them soon after the violation occurs, can these problems be avoided and future violations deterred.

To help achieve this goal the Agency is publicly announcing this initiative to encourage landowners in the Park and the professionals who assist them with subdivisions, namely realtors, lawyers, surveyors, and code enforcement officers to advise their clients to seek an Agency permit before undertaking a jurisdictional subdivision inside the Adirondack Park. To get the word out, the Agency will be notifying professional organizations and Adirondack planning boards of this initiative.

The public can obtain a legal determination from the Agency as to whether a permit is required for a proposed subdivisions. Please contact the Agency’s Jurisdiction Inquiry Office at (518) 891.4050 to discuss proposed subdivisions. For a formal, written determination, jurisdictional Inquiry Forms are downloadable from the Agency’s website. Please use the following link - http://www.apa.state.ny.us/Forms/jiform.pdf Staff is also available for jurisdictional workshops. Jurisdictional workshops clarify Agency rules and regulations regarding subdivisions and other jurisdictional activities. These workshops may also provide continuing education credits. To schedule a workshop please contact Keith McKeever.