The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) will hold its regularly scheduled monthly meeting on Wednesday, September 9 through Friday September 11 at APA Headquarters in Ray Brook. Meeting topics (detailed below) will include: two new cellular towers in North Hudson; the expansion of Adventure Bound Camps; a new permit application for wind energy projects; the 2009 New York State Draft Energy Plan; an agreement on travel corridor management between the Department of Transportation, Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the APA; DEC and APA guidance for snowmobile trail construction and maintenance; the classification proposals for land and water in the vicinity of Lows Lake and the Five Ponds Wilderness Area. The September meeting will be webcast live on the Agency’s homepage; meeting materials are available for download at http://www.apa.state.ny.us/Mailing/0909/index.htm

Here is the official meeting announcement from the APA:

The Full Agency will convene on Wednesday afternoon from 3:00 to 5:00 for a presentation by representatives of T-Mobile, Verizon, Nextel and AT&T. The telecommunications providers will address the different technologies used, inter-operability of technology amongst providers and the future direction of cellular technologies in the Adirondack Park.

On Thursday morning at 9:00, the Full Agency will convene for Executive Director Terry Martino’s monthly report highlighting her first month of activity at the Agency.

At 9:15 a.m., the Regulatory Programs Committee will determine approvability for two telecommunications towers proposed separately by Verizon and T-Mobile. The project sites are located adjacent to the northbound High Peaks Rest Area which is between exits 29 and 30 on Interstate 87. The towers will be installed east of the rest area on private land off Pepper Hollow Road in the Town of North Hudson, Essex County.

Verizon is proposing a 74-foot simulated tree telecommunications tower and 10-foot lightning rod for an overall height of 84-feet. T-Mobile is proposing an 85-foot tower and 5-foot lightning rod for an overall height of 90-feet. The T-Mobile tower is approximately 1,400 feet from the proposed Verizon tower.

Key issues include co-location and whether one tower could service both carriers. Additionally there is the question of whether the two towers, which could provide for future multiple co-locations for several telecommunications carriers, will be acceptable under the Agency’s “Tower’s Policy.”

The committee will then consider a proposal to expand a pre-existing group camp named Adventure Bound Camps, Inc. The project involves a greater than 25% expansion. The main camp and a sailing site are located on two separate parcels of land on opposite sides of Upper Chateaugay Lake in the Towns of Ellenburg and Dannemora, Clinton County.

Key issues include wetland impacts, construction of a single point wastewater treatment system and impacts to other shore owners from waterfront and lake activities.

The committee meeting will conclude with deliberation on the revised new draft general permit application for the installation of Small Scale Wind Turbines and Wind Monitoring Masts. The draft general permit was first brought before the Agency at its March 2009 meeting and a public comment period subsequently held. The committee will decide whether to authorize use of the general permit.

At 1:00, New York State Department of Public Service Deputy Director for Policy and Legal Affairs, Jeffrey Cohen, will address the Full Agency on the status of the 2009 New York State Draft Energy Plan. The draft Energy Plan sets forth a vision for a robust and innovative Clean Energy Economy that will stimulate investment, create jobs, and meet the energy needs of residents and businesses over its 10-year planning horizon.

The Plan provides the framework in which the State will meet its future energy needs in a cost-effective and sustainable manner, establishes policy objectives to guide State agencies and authorities as they address energy-related issues, and sets forth strategies and recommendations to achieve these objectives.

At 2:00, the State Land Committee will consider the proposed draft inter-agency memorandum of understanding (MOU) for travel corridor management plans. This MOU between the Department of Transportation, Department of Environmental Conservation and the APA outlines an approach for developing, reviewing and implementing travel corridor unit management plans for the approximately 1,100 miles of state highway corridors in the Adirondack Park.

Following this action the committee will hear a first reading on proposed DEC and APA staff guidance for snowmobile trail construction and maintenance for trails on Adirondack Park State Lands.

The State Land Committee will conclude its deliberations by considering the revised classification/reclassification proposals for State land and water in the vicinity of Lows Lake and the Five Ponds Wilderness Area. At its May 2009 meeting the Agency authorized staff to open a public comment period and hold public hearings on this matter. Based on public comment and additional site visits, staff modified the original proposal limiting the extent of area classified as Wilderness.

At 4:00, the Local Government Service Committee will meet for a presentation from Stephanie Siciliano of the Laberge Group on the Town of Horicon’s Hamlet Design Guidelines for Brant Lake. This project was funded through the State’s Smart Growth Grant Program.

At 4:45, the Enforcement Committee will come to order for administrative enforcement proceedings related to alleged permit violations resulting in non-compliance from substandard sized lots on a private property in the Town of Watson, Lewis County.

On Friday morning at 9:00, The Full Agency will convene to take action as necessary and conclude the meeting with committee reports, public and member comment.

The next Agency meeting is October 8-9, 2009, at the Adirondack Park Agency Headquarters.

November Agency Meeting: November 12-13, 2009 Adirondack Park Agency Headquarters.