Michael Jamison, NYSEG’s senior manager of corporate communications, announced on Sept. 1 that the company will hold the proposed Bell Station auction despite receiving cancellation requests from the Finger Lakes Land Trust and thousands of Tompkins County residents.
“In the interests of transparency and fairness and the understanding that there are many stakeholders with very different opinions, the company made the decision that the fairest and most transparent way to deal with the property is an auction bid and buy the property, ”said Jamison. “That is what we are ultimately driving forward.”
One of those stakeholders is the Finger Lakes Land Trust, which for the past eight to ten years acted as agent for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) in the acquisition of the 470 acre property with 3,400 feet of coastline on the east side of the Cayuga Lake. Executive Director Andrew Zepp said he was more surprised by the way the auction is being marketed than by the auction itself.
“We had the impression that it would be sold for energy generation,” said Zepp. “We thought we had the opportunity to work with whoever bought it to find the right balance between maintaining the coastline and providing solar power. This is a completely different situation, in which it is clearly being marketed for residential construction, with the possibility of public access as well as the possibility of renewable energies being lost. “
The listing on Ten-X states in the description that “the property is a perfect candidate for a potential waterfront housing development with secondary agricultural use and recreational forest / tertiary use.” The prospect that the property will be auctioned and the winner will build a housing estate carries environmental risks.
“The entire coastline is forested if it is to be developed [there] There would be clearing on state slopes, which leads to more runoff into the lake when we see these more intense rain events, ”said Zepp.
Such an outcome would also thwart opportunities to open the property’s shoreline to the public and to plan solar energy development in the eastern portion of it.
“At a time when we – especially during the pandemic – see more and more people who appreciate coming to our parks and nature reserves, we have a capacity problem,” said Zepp. “Taughannock State Park, for example, has recently been closed because the parking lot is full. So we don’t have enough areas to allow the public to come out and enjoy these places. “
“Our position is that the public good is best served in the long run when NYSEG and its fee payers are compensated through a fair market value process, but also that the end result is that combination of environmental protection, renewable energy and public access,” he said. “In our opinion, the auction in its current form is not in the public interest.”
(The comprehensive plan of the city of Lansing describes the Bell Station as a “future, publicly accessible nature reserve”.)
The public has made it clear that they also want the auction to be canceled. A petition entitled “Stop the auction! Create a Public Access Land Preserve at Bell Station, Lansing, New York ”on change.org, started by Robert Rieger, a resident of Lansing, has collected over 3,200 signatures as of September 7th. Several residents of Lansing voiced their concerns at a mobile consultation with Sen. Pamela Helming in the town hall on August 25th. At that meeting, Helming shared their support for canceling the auction.
“My concern is … that I hate it when this property is sold to the highest bidder and becomes a large housing estate,” said Helming on Wednesday. “Most of all, I know a lot of you like to talk about the lakefront, but for me it’s all about the hills too, right? Because whatever happens on these hills will flow into the lake [and] Effects on water quality. “
A potential situation like the above would conflict with NYSEG’s list of standards for the environment on the company’s website. For example, under “Environmental Stewardship”, NYSEG states that it “conducts its business and plant operations in a manner that minimizes adverse environmental impacts on present and future generations”. Another example would be found under “Environmental Policy”, where the company states that it “includes” it.[s] Influence environmental compatibility considerations in decision-making processes with regard to existing and future operational processes. “
The auction was originally scheduled for September 20, but has since been postponed to October 11-13 online with bids starting at $ 750,000. Though hopes the auction will be canceled, Zepp said the Land Trust plans to register if it doesn’t.
Lansing City Council will hold a special session on September 8th at 6:30 p.m. to consider approving the Conservation Advisory Council to write a letter supporting NYSDEC intervention to acquire the property and a to set up a publicly accessible nature reserve.
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