New Report Exposes Major Flaws
in Economic and Fiscal Impact Analysis Used to Justify Scheme to Build Massive Development in Tupper Lake
Hudson Group Report Says Club and Resort Cost Estimates Do Not Reflect Reality; Resort's Tax Scheme "Insures" that Local Property Taxes Will Rise
Association advises Town to Take No Action on Proposal to Rezone Land, and Calls for More Community Dialogue.
Keene, NY – Citing a report that describes major flaws in economic and fiscal impact analysis of the proposed Adirondack Club and Resort, The Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks is asking the Town of Tupper Lake Planning Board to take no action on the proposal to rezone lands to accommodate the massive development scheme. The Town Planning Board is holding a public hearing on the rezone on Thursday, July 13.
"We have long suspected this, but now the Hudson Group Report is confirming that the Club and Resort project will leave local governments and residents very vulnerable to serious economic and fiscal impacts," states the Association's Director of Park Protection Dan Plumley, a resident of Keene. "The Hudson Group was hired by the Town. Its authors conclude that Mr. Foxman's project is very deficient in sales, marketing and fiscal impact data. Tupper Lake ought not to rezone land in order to please a developer who is unable or who refuses to give the Town reliable, substantive information that it needs to justify the rezoning request."
Before the Town creates a Planned Development District (PDD) and rezones the land, it must ask an applicant to furnish any information needed for a "reasonable understanding of the nature and character of the proposed development," including detailed information on utilities and impacts on neighbors. According to the Association's executive director David Gibson, "Mr. Foxman has virtually changed the project overnight by claiming the ability to install his own sewage and water treatment facilities. Furthermore, nobody appears to have any idea where the actual development footprints are any more. The Village Mayor himself has said that the Club and Resort is a moving target. The Town should not rezone when it lacks a reasonable understanding of the nature of the project," adds Gibson.
The Hudson Group's analysis of the municipal fiscal impacts, public services and marketability of the Club and Resort project states that Michael Foxman and his fellow investors failed to provide "reasonable and substantive" data and analysis, overestimated sales prospects for more than 700 second home and vacation dwellings and underestimated project costs and required public services. The report advises the Town not to commit to bonding for project infrastructure without more solid information from the developer.
Commenting on the developer's guarantee with the Town to freeze the overall tax rate for the new residences at 2005 levels and to only commit to payments in lieu of taxes after 2005, the Hudson Group reports that: "This totally ignores additional expenditures that will be incurred by the different local governments as a result of the project. It also ignores the fact that inflation occurs. This guarantee will in all likelihood result in higher tax levies and tax rates for the Town of Tupper Lake residents to cover the additional government expenditures. A cap on revenues without a cap on expenditures virtually insures that Tupper Lake property taxes will have to increase."
The report states: "The proposal for the project provides no direct tax relief for the Village and in fact could lead to higher Village (and town) property taxes and tax rates if there are additional service demands on the Village." Regarding infrastructure costs, the report says that Foxman reported a large spread, varying between $40 and $90 million. This large range indicates an unwillingness to report the true costs of the project. Regarding additional service demands, the report states that it is "highly unlikely" that the project will have no effect on village services, which contradicts Mr. Foxman's repeated assertions. Regarding the School District, the report states that increased property values will diminish state aid and property taxes will have to be raised to compensate.
Concerning government services, the Hudson Group concludes that Foxman's estimate of additional costs "totally leave out any service requirements that might be required (or demanded) by the projected 1768 seasonal residents. This is not an acceptable analysis and conclusion." The report goes on to list many new demands on local government services which Foxman underestimates, such as assessment, highway , solid waste, fire, emergency, medical and police services.
From a marketing standpoint the Hudson Group says that demographic information about potential purchasers is almost totally lacking, resulting in unknowable economic impacts, stating that "absent is information that covers the demographic/lifestyle market demand for these units, compared to the existing and prospective competitive supply of these units in the Northeast states."
"Essentially, this professional report should inspire the community of Tupper Lake to rethink its options, come together and envision alternative futures for Big Tupper and the lands of Oval Wood Dish," says the Association's Dan Plumley. "Rezoning in the context of this damning report and Mr. Foxman's recent behavior should be ruled out. Instead, the community can choose a more appropriate way to secure the enduring benefits these immensely important lands provide, lands where generations of residents learned to ski, hunt, fish and explore. We urge the Town to establish a collaborative, inclusive process to discuss and debate sustainable alternatives to those proposed by Mr. Foxman, whose only interest at this point seems to be in raising the speculative value of the ski slopes and mountain summit."
The Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks announced its opposition to the Adirondack Club and Resort proposal last year because the development would irreparably harm the natural environment of the region and destroy the unique character of its human communities. The project would, if approved, create a sprawling mega-resort of over 700 single family dwellings, condos and "great camp" lots that would carve up the backcountry with roads across some 6,400 acres zoned Resource Management by the APA and comprised of scenic, largely undeveloped forested land near Tupper Lake. The Association recognizes and supports the Town of Tupper Lake's interest in seeing the revitalization of the Big Tupper Ski Area but is compelled to oppose the overwhelming scale, scope and intensity of Mr. Foxman's development scheme. The Association also believes the project would result in tremendous negative impact on the woods, waters and wildlife in the region. And it would fragment the land in a way wholly inconsistent with local traditions and needs and with the Adirondack Park Agency's mandate.
The Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks is a non-profit organization founded in 1901 to employ public education, citizen action, public and private partnerships and strong advocacy to protect, enhance, and sustain the wild character, ecological integrity, and mutual well-being of the natural and human communities of the Adirondack region. The Association's Center for the Forest Preserve in Niskayuna serves as an Adirondack research library and learning center.