From left, Lakewood Village Trustee John Shedd, Trustee Ben Troche, Mayor Randy Holcomb, Trustee Ellen Barnes, and Trustee Nancy Jones look over documents, and discuss delaying the implementation of the proposed wetlands regulations for Chautauqua Lake. P-J photo by Michael Zabrodsky

LAKEWOOD – Lakewood village trustees want to delay the implementation of the proposed wetlands regulations for Chautauqua Lake.

And on Monday, the Lakewood Village Board of Trustees unanimously approved the resolution. In July, trustees approved a measure that opposes the New York State draft regulations submitted in the 2022 amended 1975 Freshwater Wetlands Act.

“The Village of Lakewood Board of Trustees is respectfully requesting Gov. Kathy Hochul delay the implementation of these new wetlands regulations,” Trustee Ellen Barnes read from the resolution.

The proposed regs are to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025.

The 2022 Wetlands Law amendments and 2023 draft regulations can regulate the use of significant portions of the lake and adjacent shoreline with major negative impacts on tourism, commercial interests, property values, and ultimately, property, school, and sales tax revenue.

Wehrfritz, and Lakewood Village Trustee, earlier this year began raising concerns about the new wetlands designation and its potential impact on Chautauqua Lake. Concerns initially focused on the Burtis Bay area of Chautauqua Lake in the town of Ellicott and village of Lakewood. Wehrfritz has said the new regulations could affect the entire lake. Homes along Chautauqua Lake’s shores makeup more than 25 percent of the county’s total taxable value.

The towns of Ellicott, Ellery, Busti, and North Harmony, as well as the villages of Bemus Point, Celoron, and Mayville have passed resolutions opposing the state wetlands designation.

State Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, and State Assemblyman Andy Goodell, R-Jamestown, had sent a joint letter in June to Sean Mahar, interim state DEC commissioner, expressing their concerns with the way proposed wetlands regulations could affect Chautauqua Lake. They specifically asked that the proposed DEC regulations not designate lakes as wetlands because that designation would be inconsistent with both existing statutory language and decades of precedent.

Barnes added that the adopted village resolution also calls for new regs be delayed until the New York State Department of Conservation addresses all of the issues of the proposed regs; until the DEC proposed wetlands permit is complete; until legislation exempting the lake introduced by Borrello is considered and voted on; until the NYSDEC-proposed “informational maps” showing suggested wetlands areas are available to the public; until the DEC “lake-specific wetlands regulations” are complete; and until DEC Region 9 staffing is sufficient to effectively and efficiently administer the regulations.

“The Village of Lakewood Board of Trustees is requesting the implementation of the new regulations be delayed until a complete study of the impact that the new regulations will have on the businesses, properties and property values which surround the lake, and the impact on the general public and economy of the municipalities that surround Chautauqua Lake and Chautauqua County, in general, and the proper fiscal analysis is conducted and made public of the region affected by the new regulations,” Barnes read.

The resolution, Barnes added, asks that the regs be delayed until the Army Corps of Engineers finishes its study, and that information is released.

Trustee John Shedd said that he supports the importance of preserving wetlands, but doesn’t support more regulations.

“In my opinion, they (wetlands) enhance value of property if they are used appropriately. I am not for additional regulations. I think that the regulations that we currently have cover those issues. I’m also in agreement with Sen. Borrello’s commentary and hopes for this vote to come forward to exempt bodies of water like Chautauqua Lake. I think that this resolution is very responsible in the way it was written to to do the studies, the impact studies. I believe it’s the right way to go to delay it. I don’t believe that the DEC currently has a staffing plan for how they’re going to enforce this,” Shedd noted.

Lake advocate Jim Wehrfritz previously has said that the new regs are being interpreted by the DEC to include Chautauqua and other lakes. For Chautauqua Lake, the regulations will require the most stringent restrictions on common activities. All parts of Chautauqua Lake and its shoreline could be regulated – not just the South Basin to which the DEC has given most attention.

“As you know, although only 1 percent of the County’s land area, shoreline and near-Lake properties generate over 25 percent of total Chautauqua County property tax revenue. If designated wetlands, property values and tax revenue are sure to decrease. Property tax rates will have to increase for all in Chautauqua County to make up the shortfall. School tax rates will increase in lakeside districts or more. Sales tax revenue will decrease as Lake- related tourism, a mainstay of the Chautauqua County economy, suffers,” Wehrfritz said.