Environmental groups sue over approval of Tupper Lake project

PHOTOGRAPHER: Stephen Williams

Two environmental organizations have sued the Adirondack Park Agency over its Jan. 20 approval of the massive Adirondack Club and Resort project in Tupper Lake, the largest project the park agency has ever reviewed.

Protect the Adirondacks!, the Sierra Club, and three nearby landowners filed their lawsuit Tuesday in state Supreme Court in Albany, seeking to reverse the APA’s approval for the controversial development.

They said their major concern is the proposed fragmentation of 4,805 acres of undeveloped forest lands classified “Resource Management” by the Adirondack Park Agency Act into 35 “Great Camp” lots and 45 other smaller lots.

In all, the most than 700-unit resort would encompass 6,235 acres around the former Big Tupper ski area.

“Its rubber-stamp approval of this project, the largest ever to come before it, is only the latest example of this unfortunate trend,” said John Caffry of Glens Falls, the lead attorney for those who filed the suit.

The project was approved by the APA board 10-1, after seven years of agency review and negotiations, and a three-month review by the APA board.

The resort, proposed by Preserve Associates, would include 206 single-family dwellings, 453 multi-family housing units, a 60-room inn with restaurant at the former Big Tupper, a marina on Tupper Lake, and miles of new roads and infrastructure.