Town of Lake George

OWNER ANSWERS $100,000 FINE WITH LAWSUIT:

The landowner who was fined $100,000 by the Town Board for clear-cutting 224 trees and violating numerous zoning laws has fired back with a lawsuit.

Keith Van Buskirk, president of Sinzibukwud Inc., accused the town of disregarding its own laws and infringing on his rights to due process when the board imposed the fine at its Feb. 13 meeting.

Town officials found the company guilty of logging without a permit when it cleared a section of land with views of Lake George in November 2004. Van Buskirk owns 1,450 acres off of Route 9N, near Exit 21 of the Northway. The land sits in Luzerne, Lake George and Warrensburg.

Supervisor Lou Tessier said the logging caused damage to West Brook, which runs into the lake. Town Board members said in February they would cut the fine in half if Van Buskirk fixed the washouts that caused erosion to the brook.

Van Buskirk denies he did any damage to the property and called the fine outrageous.
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The lawsuit cites town law in refuting the clear-cutting charge. Loggers are barred from cutting down more than half of trees that are six inches in diameter four to five feet up their trunks, over an entire area. While the town said Sinzibukwud cut down too many trees over a two-acre area, the lawsuit says the total area logged was 50 acres -- reducing the percentage of trees felled.

The suit also claims the fine should be dropped because the town didn't notify Van Buskirk or his lawyer of the Feb. 13 meeting.

The lawsuit, filed in Warren County state Supreme Court, demands the resolution be annulled. The company also seeks repayment from the town for legal costs.