REVIEW OF MAGRO SITE PLAN CONTINUES

The Saranac Lake Planning Board continued its review of Paulo Magro’s plans for a restaurant and a new three story building on the former site of Burger King at their regular meeting last night.

And, just as they did last month, several neighboring property owners and other residents raised concerns about the height of the building and its impact on their views of Lake Flower.

“The only place we have open space is along the river and Lake Flower,” said Barbara Kerner.  “To block that, I think is going to be detrimental to this village.  Three stories is a ridiculous height.”

Magro, the owner of Little Italy, recently purchased the property and is planning to keep the existing building for use as a restaurant.  He also wants to build a separate three-story structure at the back of the site that would have six apartments and commercial space on the first floor.

Since the plans were first presented last month, a balloon test was conducted to gauge the approximate height of the building. 

But Paul Willcott, owner of the former Carmelite Monastery, called the test an “amateur operation” using “happy birthday balloons.” He said an outside party should have done it.  “He didn’t have a disinterested party do the test,” he said.  “It doesn’t smell right.”

Board Chairman Wayne Feinberg, however, said he was satisfied with the balloon test and that members of the planning board were able to get a good idea of the structure’s height, despite the windy conditions that day.

As the public hearing continued, other residents worried about the project increasing traffic congestion on River Street and whether anyone would rent the $1000 a month apartments.

But the height of the building was the biggest concern. David Bouton, distributed a two-page letter, citing sections of the village master plan that call for protecting residential streets from visual intrusion by commercial users along River Street.  “Mr. Magro’s building will clearly and unequivocally violate these principles,” he wrote. 

But Magro defended the project, telling his critics that if they want to keep the view they should pool their money and buy the property.  “We have regulations that we can build to forty feet,” he said.  “I did it by the law.”

During a heated exchange with the project’s opponents, Magro said the apartments are priced to attract “regular” people who work in the schools or the hospital, not “crazy people” or “scumbags.”  He said he wants to do something nice for the community.  “Do we want to stop this village from growing because you don’t want the building,” he asked.

Another member of the audience voiced support for the plans.  Tom Jones cited Magro’s previous work on the Little Italy building and the former Alice’s Restaurant as evidence that his new project will be appropriate for the community.  

Planning board members closed the public hearing but made no decision on the project.  They asked again for information requested at last month’s meeting including a grading plan and a clarification on the building’s height. Although Magro had said it was 36-37 feet, his architect’s latest plans showed the structure at 39 feet.

The board also asked for details on a small retaining wall on the Clinton Avenue side of the building and handicapped parking requirements.

And, Feinberg said, because a neighboring property, the Partridge Cottage, is on the National Register of Historic Places, the applicants had to complete long-form State Environmental Quality Review paperwork. 

A series of state agencies are being notified and will be given 30 days to respond with any concerns.  The project is expected to be back on the board’s agenda at their November 21 meeting.

-Chris Knight

CANOE CLUB GETS CONDITIONAL REVIEW BOARD APPROVAL

Conditional approval of the “Canoe Club,” a luxury condominium complex in Lake Placid, was granted Wednesday night by the Lake Placid-North Elba Joint Review Board.

Proposed by T-Rex Capital LLC, a private capital group based in Connecticut that purchased the Whiteface Lodge and Resort earlier this year, the “Canoe Club” will include eight boat slips for boats moored on Paradox Bay.  They’ll be used by residents of the 11-unit luxury condo complex, to be built on the site of the Lake Shore Motel on Saranac Avenue.

Review board member Horst Weber raised concern about the impact the additional slips would have on the bay and proposed language in the permit to limit the number of daily boat trips. But the board’s attorney, Tim Smith, noted such a limitation could be impossible to legally enforce.

In the end, Weber gave his support and the board voted 4-1 to approve the project with Chairman Bill Hurley dissenting.

The permit will be granted on condition of a to-be completed storm water management plan, a prohibition of public boat rentals, submission of revised drawings of the buildings and a future inspection of the lighting and vegetation impacts. The board also certified there would be no significant environmental impact, as required by state environmental law.

In its earlier incarnation, the project had included a 60-seat restaurant, but that has been dropped since the resort was acquired by T-Rex Capital.

Chairman Hurley, who cast the dissenting vote, did not explain his reasoning for objecting to the project.

In other news, the review board has instructed its attorney to begin drafting a permit for the Hilton Lake Placid Resort’s expansion project.  A vote could come as early as next month's meeting.

The 31-unit condominium project that would replace the existing Lakeview Motel has been controversial, especially among residents of the Signal Hill neighborhood.  Owners of the Summit Hotel also complained the expansion would eliminate views of Mirror Lake for its guests.

The state Adirondack Park Agency has indicated it does not have jurisdiction over the project. The review board did not vote whether the project would have significant impact on environmental quality as the storm water plan has not been completed. The applicants, Chicago-based Lane Hospitality, also pledged to have a revised landscape architectural plan completed before the board meets on November 7.

Owners of the Summit Hotel retained a local attorney and have filed objections to the plan, but no public comment was taken Wednesday night.

Review board members Olga Krone and Kitty Nardiello were absent from the meeting.

-Jacob Resneck

HUNTER RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL AFTER GETTING SHOT

A Gloversville man was treated and released from a local hospital after he was shot by his own gun while hunting in the Long Lake area.

State Police say 35 year-old Joseph P. Christiano was hunting grouse in the Moose Pond area Tuesday with a shotgun loaded with birdshot when the gun fell out of his shoulder holster.

He told police that the gun struck a rock and discharged one round of birdshot into his lower abdomen.

Christiano was taken by a private vehicle to the State Police station in Tupper Lake.  The Tupper Lake Rescue Squad responded and Christiano was transported by ambulance to Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake.

He was treated and released from the hospital on Wednesday.

State Police say the incident remains under investigation.

-Chris Knight

GILLIBRAND LEADS CAMPAIGN MONEY RACE

Facing what’s expected to be a hotly contested re-election campaign next year Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand has been stocking her war chest in the 20th Congressional District.

The Democrat continues to be one of the nation’s top fundraisers among freshman representatives, collecting $2.1 million in contributions according to her latest campaign finance report. Since July 1 alone, Gillibrand has raised more than $600,000.

The congresswoman is reportedly trying to reach a fundraising goal of $2.6 million, the same amount she used to defeat incumbent Republican John Sweeney last year.

But her fundraising efforts have not been without controversy. Gillibrand returned $25,000 in contributions to 13 donors that were connected to Norman Hsu. The California businessman was indicted last month on federal charges of violating campaign finance laws and defrauding investors of $60 million.

Recognizing the 20th Congressional district may not be a lock for Gillibrand, the National Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has placed Gillibrand and 30 other House members in their “frontline project.”

The committee, which finances and manages campaigns for Democrats, will help Gillibrand with fundraising, strategy and voter outreach. 

Meanwhile, Ken Spain, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, told the Albany Times Union that Gillibrand “will need every dime she can get her hands on to explain her record” to the district voters. “She is far to the left of the district,” Spain said.

Gillibrand’s Republican competitors also have been busy raising money.  At the top of the list is Lake Placid resident Alexander “Sandy” Treadwell. The former New York Secretary of State has collected $822,000 to date including $322,000 of his own money.

Following Treadwell is former police officer and real estate broker Richard Wager with just under $213,000. Michael Rocque, a retired Army lieutenant colonel from Whitehall has collected $108,000 and John Wallace, a real estate broker, has raised $6,200.

-Mike Fritts

RECREATIONAL PATH APPLICATION FINALLY GOES TO APA

More than six years since being first proposed, plans for a recreational path running alongside the railroad tracks between Lake Placid and Saranac Lake are now being reviewed by the Adirondack Park Agency.

The APA deemed the application for the first phase of the project complete on September 28.  A public comment period is scheduled to end today.

APA spokesman Keith McKeever says agency staff is currently reviewing the project.  “We might bring it to the board in December depending on how the review goes,” he said.

The path, designed for the use of pedestrians, bicyclists and cross-country skiers, would be located along and within the Adirondack Scenic Railroad right-of-way.

The Adirondack North Country Association is seeking approval for the first phase – a 4.5 mile stretch from Old Military Road in Lake Placid to its intersection with the Scarface Mountain Trail in Ray Brook. 

The surface of the path will be asphalt paving or crushed stone.  It will be 10 feet in width in most locations and setback 6.5 to 11 feet from the closest rail. 

Fill and retaining walls will be installed in wetlands along a 4200 foot section of the path with an elevated boardwalk over open water and wetlands in a 115 foot section of the path.

To mitigate the loss of wetlands, a new .76-acre wetland will be created at the Village of Lake Placid’s snow dump site

Separate APA review and approval will eventually be sought for the second phase of the project – construction of the remaining 3.7 miles of the recreational path from Ray Brook to Saranac Lake.

-Chris Knight

SPITZER DELIVERS FUNDS FOR BROADBAND, P-BURGH AIRPORT

A plan to bring affordable, high-speed broadband internet service to Clinton, Essex and Franklin Counties got a boost today when Governor Eliot Spitzer made a visit to Plattsburgh.

Spitzer announced the state is investing $250,000 to help fund the design of the 500-mile network.  The grant serves as a match for another $250,000 in federal funding for the project.

Spitzer said the era when North Country residents were deprived of broadband has come to an end. “A group of dedicated residents have already come together to form the Community Broadband Network or CBN to establish an open access broadband network that would serve the residents of Clinton, Essex and Franklin Counties,” he said.  “Assisted by local IDA’s the CBN has devoted hundreds of hours to this project.”

Spitzer also announced a $2 million investment in Plattsburgh International Airport to retrofit an abandoned airbase hangar so it can be used to attract more business to the facility.

The two initiatives are part of Spitzer’s “City by City” Economic Development Plan.  “The projects we’re announcing today were selected to build on the strengths and address the unique challenges of Clinton, Essex and Franklin Counties,” the governor said in a news release.  “The state’s investment here is focused on laying the ground work to attract more private sector investment.”

Garry Douglas, President of the Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce, said the governor and his economic development team have been listening to their concerns.  “We have consistently identified Plattsburgh International Airport and broadband as two critical ingredients for success in our region,” he said.  “We welcome the governor’s commitment to help us achieve our aims.”

The design of the community broadband network and the retrofitting of the airport hanger are both expected to be complete by late 2008. 

-Chris Knight

POLICE REPORT

A Tupper Lake man has been arrested in connection with the September 21 burglary of the Brick Oven Café.  Tupper Lake Village Police arrested 24 year-old Justin Drasye at 4:43 p.m. Wednesday.  He was charged with third-degree burglary and third-degree criminal mischief, both felonies, and misdemeanor petit larceny.  Drasye was arraigned and remanded to the Franklin County Jail on $1000 bail.  He’s scheduled to appear in village court on November 5.