Proposed county resolution

ESSEX COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

RESOLUTION REQUESTING A COORDINATED REVIEW OF
ADIRONDACK PARK AGENCY PROJECT P2021-0276
AND EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR UNCONVENTIONAL CONCEPTS, INC.

WHEREAS, Unconventional Concepts, Inc. ("UCI") has pending before the Adirondack Park Agency ("APA") Project P2021-0276, an application for a limited 155-millimeter howitzer barrel-testing operation in the Town of Lewis, Essex County; and

WHEREAS, according to the APA's current description, the project concerns testing the internal ballistics of 155-millimeter cannon barrels, steel projectiles would be fired into a designated target area, explosive warheads are not proposed, a projectile-catching system has been proposed, and the proposed firing schedule is limited to thirty firings per year on weekdays; and

WHEREAS, the application has been in the APA process since 2021 and is now the subject of an adjudicatory hearing presently scheduled for October 28, 2026; and

WHEREAS, a regulatory system that can consume years before reaching a final determination creates a serious problem for property owners, entrepreneurs, employers, municipalities, and investors throughout the Adirondack Park; and

WHEREAS, the precedent established by this matter will not remain confined to one parcel in Essex County, and the next applicant trapped in a prolonged and uncertain process could be proposing manufacturing, forestry, housing, telecommunications, tourism infrastructure, energy development, or another project important to Essex County; and

WHEREAS, Executive Law section 803-a authorizes the Adirondack Park Local Government Review Board to monitor administration and enforcement of the Adirondack Park Land Use and Development Plan and to make recommendations to the Governor, the Legislature, and the legislative bodies of the Adirondack Park counties; and

WHEREAS, supporting UCI does not mean abandoning environmental review, but rather recognizing that environmental protection must operate through objective standards, technical evidence, reasonable conditions, and timely decisions;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Essex County Board of Supervisors hereby:

1. Expresses support for Unconventional Concepts, Inc. and the company's effort to obtain approval for Project P2021-0276 under reasonable and technically defensible conditions;

2. Requests that if legitimate engineering or environmental concerns can be mitigated through enforceable conditions, those conditions be established and the project be allowed to proceed;

3. Calls upon the Adirondack Park Local Government Review Board to conduct a formal review of the APA's handling of this application; and

4. Encourages Essex County's participation in a coordinated twelve-county review asking a simple question: if an applicant is willing and able to satisfy legitimate regulatory requirements, what precisely must that applicant do to receive a permit and move forward?

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Clerk of this body is directed to forward a certified copy of this resolution to the Adirondack Park Local Government Review Board, the Adirondack Park Agency, the Governor, the New York State Legislature, and the legislative bodies of the Adirondack Park counties.