Senate Bill S823

                                BILL NUMBER:S823

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the civil practice law and rules
and the executive law, in relation to the statute of
limitations for certain actions commenced by the Adirondack park agency
within the Adirondack Park

PURPOSE:
To enact a reasonable statute of limitations for actions
commenced by the Adirondack Park Agency within the Adirondack Park
against a property owner.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 - amends section 212 of the civil
practice law and rules by adding a new subdivision (e) that provides
a statute of limitations of ten years to enforce certain violations of
the APA rules and regulations. Any action to enforce violations shall
be commenced by such agency within ten years after the occurrence of
such violation, or in the exercise of reasonable diligence should
have been discovered by a public servant who has the responsibility
to enforce such provisions.

Section 2 - amends section 813 of the executive law to add a statute
of limitations of ten years.
              

Section 3 - contains the effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:
The Adirondack Park Agency was formed in 1973 to
provide for overall conservation, protection, preservation,
development and use of the unique scenic, aesthetic, wildlife,
recreational, open space, historic, ecological and natural resources
of the Adirondack Park. The resources the APA protects are very
important, but there needs to be a balance between protecting our
natural resources and the human resource needs of the people that
live and make their living in the Park.
The APA is charged with, among other responsibilities, enforcing
violations of its rules and regulations. The APA has, at times, taken
many years to enforce violations of their regulations. Frequently the
property in question has changed ownership and the new owners are
faced with correcting a violation they were totally unaware of and
one that happened many years prior to the enforcement action. We
believe there should be a limit as to how far back the APA can go
requiring correction of violations.

This bill would ease the burden
of the regulators and will also give the APA a starting point for
review.
A recent example of the need for a statute of limitations is best
illustrated in the Monda Case. The Monda's purchased a home in the
Town of Putnam, Washington County, from a family who had owned the
property for many, many years. The Monda's contacted the APA for
purposes of getting a property line adjustment. When the
representative from the APA came to look at the property, he noticed


the deck on the house, which had been there for approximately 30
years. He then notified them that they were in violation and must
remove the portion of the deck which was over 10' x 10', the
dimensions allowed by the APA. If they failed to do so, they would
face a significant fine. Had this legislation been in place, the new
owners would not be subject to a violation for which they were not
responsible.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2010:     S.323 Passed Senate; A.444 Third Reading
2007:     S.1253 Codes; A.444 Codes
2005-06:  S.1053 Codes, A.1983 Codes
2004:     S.5678-A Codes; A.9111-A Codes

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the State.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.