N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 9-1901 – Legislative purpose and intent
§ 9-1901. Legislative purpose and intent.
Terms Used In N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 9-1901
- Adirondack park: shall include all lands located in the forest preserve counties of the Adirondacks within the following described boundaries, to wit: Beginning at the most southerly corner of lot 166 of the John Glen and 44 Others Patent in the line between such patent and the twenty-first allotment of the Kayaderosseras Patent; thence northeasterly along the said line and along the southerly bounds of John Glen and 44 Others Patent and of the Sanders Patent to the southeasterly corner of the Sanders Patent; thence continuing northeasterly along the division line between the twenty-second and twenty-fourth allotments of the Kayaderosseras Patent to the southeasterly corner of the twenty-fourth allotment of the Kayaderosseras Patent; thence northerly along the division line between the twenty-fourth and the twenty-fifth allotments of that patent to the northeasterly corner of the twenty-fourth allotment; thence easterly along the north line of the twenty-fifth allotment and the southerly lines of John Glen and 44 Others Patent, the Luzerne Tract and the Glen Patent to the southeasterly corner of the Glen Patent; thence northerly along the easterly lines of the Glen Patent and the Luzerne Tract to the northwesterly corner of the Queensbury Patent; thence easterly along the northerly bounds of the Queensbury Patent to the northeasterly corner thereof; thence southerly along the easterly bounds of the Queensbury Patent to the northwesterly corner of the Kingsbury Patent; thence easterly along the northerly bounds of the Kingsbury Patent to the southwesterly corner of the Artillery Patent; thence northerly along the westerly line of the Artillery Patent to the northwesterly corner of the Artillery Patent; thence easterly along the northerly bounds of the Artillery Patent to the southwesterly corner of the town of Whitehall; thence northerly along the westerly line of the town of Whitehall to the southern boundary of the town of Dresden; thence in a general northerly and easterly direction along the town line to the state boundary at the outlet of South Bay; thence in a northerly direction along the state boundary to the northeastern corner of the town of Peru in Clinton county; thence in a westerly direction to the low water line of Valcour Island; thence in a general northerly and westerly direction along the northern shore of Valcour Island to the northern boundary of the town of Peru; thence in a westerly direction along the northern boundary of the town of Peru to the eastern edge of the Delaware and Hudson railroad right-of-way; thence southerly along said eastern edge of the railroad right-of-way to the intersection of said right-of-way with the eastern edge of the right-of-way of U. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 9-0101
- Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
- forest preserve: shall include the lands owned or hereafter acquired by the state within the county of Clinton, except the towns of Altona and Dannemora, and the counties of Delaware, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, Oneida, Saratoga, Saint Lawrence, Warren, Washington, Greene, Ulster and Sullivan, except:
a. See N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 9-0101 - Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
- Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
1. During the last one hundred years, both the state and private parties have claimed title to identical portions of township forty, Totten and Crossfield Purchase, in the town of Long Lake, county of Hamilton. Indeed, some private parties have occupied and improved a number of such parcels to which the state claims title and, in many cases, both the state and private parties have paid taxes on such parcels. In the last several decades, the state and some private parties have commenced litigation, at significant expense and with limited success, to establish their respective claims over disputed parcels. As a result of longstanding claims to disputed parcels, the free transfer of the parcels has been inhibited, thereby creating economic and social hardship in township forty which, in turn, has prevented both state and private parties from the full use and enjoyment of the parcels. The legislature has determined that the judicial system is not an appropriate forum to resolve these longstanding title disputes and that a statutory solution is required.
2. For these reasons and as authorized by the provisions of section one of article fourteen of the state constitution, the legislature finds that it is in the public interest to comprehensively and expeditiously resolve these longstanding title disputes in a manner which is fair and equitable. The legislature finds that it is in the best interests of the state, the county of Hamilton, the town of Long Lake, and the private parties who claim title to portions of township forty to resolve these title disputes in a structured and efficient manner that results in clarification of ownership interests, enhancement of public access to forest preserve lands, and the quiet enjoyment of private property.
3. The legislature further finds that resolution of these title disputes shall be accomplished in a manner that ensures the integrity of the forest preserve in the Adirondack park and that results in a net benefit to the forest preserve when compared to the contested parcels.
4. The legislature further finds that the title disputes associated with township forty constitute a unique situation, found nowhere else in the state, and that consequently it is equitable and appropriate for the state to relinquish its claim of title to disputed parcels within the township. This relinquishment of claims to title shall not be deemed to set precedent for the relinquishment of claims to title with respect to other lands owned by the state.