There was standing room only in Ballston Town Hall on Wednesday, Jan. 21, as residents poured in to a public hearing to issue their varied opinions on proposed legislation to create a special district around Ballston Lake. A vote on the Watershed Protection Overlay District (formerly known as the Ballston Lake Overlay District (BLOD)) could be held as early as next month’s Town Board meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 3.
The law creates a special district comprised of all parcels in which at least 25 percent of the property rests in the watershed. Those areas would be subject to a number of regulations aimed at limiting the influence of pollutants on the lake. It also gives the town’s Planning Board power to impose requirements on projects that are perceived to have a potential impact on the lake.
Many at the public hearing questioned how effective the law would be in preventing pollutants from entering the lake.
If you really want to save that lake, then take the boats off of it, said resident Arnold Palmer.
`If there’s a problem with the lake, we should start on the lake and move out,` said resident Joan Eddy.
Councilwoman Mary Beth Hynes, who has been spearheading the drafting of the legislation since its 2005 inception, said that the purpose of the law is primarily to allow the town to act on environmental protection matters.
`We were trying to mirror what the state requires, but allow for local enforcement,` she said.
Wednesday’s public hearing was the second such proceeding for the BLOD. The board decided to take the time to redraw the boundaries after some residents in the BLOD said their properties did not, in fact, drain into the lake during a June public hearing.
An appeal process is built into this iteration of the law. For one year after its implementation, property owners who believe they have been erroneously included in the BLOD can make their argument to the town’s Planning Board.
Though the board didn’t take questions from the public, some residents thanked them and applauded the proposed law.
`This is an effort to protect one of the major resources of the Town of Ballston,` said Pete Herman. `It’s much, much harder to correct a lake that has bee polluted or has developed very high nutrient levels, and this legislation is going to go a long way to preserve Ballston Lake.`
But some wondered if the whole lake will be protected. Ballston isn’t the only town bordering the lake. Neighboring Clifton Park sits on the southwestern shore, and similar plans are not underway there.
`I would wonder why there isn’t an inter-municipal agreement with the Town of Clifton Park to have a total protection district,` said resident Jeff Hall, whose thoughts were echoed by several others.
Frank Shipp, vice president of the Ballston Lake Improvement Association and a longtime supported of the BLOD, said he has approached Clifton Park officials and is confident that they will follow Ballston’s lead once the law is passed.
`You’ve got to do first things first,` he said. `We have already been to Clifton Park and they said we will deal with it when Ballston passes it.`
Shipp added that Clifton Park’s border only accounts for 15 percent of the lake’s shore, and that efforts in Ballston will have the greatest effect on the lake.
`I had a meeting with officials from Ballston concerning that some time ago,` said Clifton Park Supervisor Philip Barrett. `When we met I think we decided that Ballston would take the lead in anything to do with this overlay district moving forward.`
He said he hopes that his Town Board will get a detailed presentation of the law if and when it passes in Ballston.“