Docks and moorings law approved for Keuka Lake

FILE PHOTO Docks and moorings on Keuka Lake will be regulated according to specifications approved last month by the state Department of Parks and Recreation.

The Keuka Lake Uniform Docks and Moorings Law completed its final phase of approval last month when New York state Parks and Recreation Commissioner Bernadette Castro sent letters of approval to the eight Keuka Lake towns and villages

This sign-off completed a nearly three-year process that began in 2004 when town and village members of the Keuka Watershed Improvement Cooperative appointed representatives from each town to serve on a committee which would look at the possibility of regulating docks and moorings on Keuka Lake.

Since then, the Docks and Moorings Committee held about 25 working sessions to study the issues to understand the process for obtaining regulatory responsibility from the state and to draft an inter-municipal law.

The process began in July 2005 when the state Senate and Assembly passed bills to grant home rule to the municipalities around Keuka Lake.

The committee then submitted a draft law to the municipalities that was reviewed with citizens in information meetings in September through December 2005. Based on input from those reviews, the committee made some changes, resubmitted the draft law, and then the municipalities conducted official hearings from May through August 2006. The municipal boards then passed individual adoption resolutions during the period September through November 2006.

Municipalities will now file their law with the office of the NYS Secretary of State.

The committee will stay active to help implement of the law in 2007. The committee also will prepare background presentations for code enforcement officers and zoning and planning boards as requested.

At this point, municipal building permits will be required for any permanent construction in Keuka Lake. Citizens owning lakefront property are advised to familiarize themselves with the uniform law. Copies of the law are available in town and village offices and it can be accessed on the Keuka Lake Association web site (www.keukalakeassoc.org).