Letter from Adrian Kuzminski
Home Rule Being Seriously Eroded
Your September 3, 2026 article on whether the Town of Springfield or the Town of Otsego should be the lead agency for the proposed Manocherian subdivision raises some important questions (“Springfield Asks the State for ‘Lead Agency’ Authority Over the Manocherian Project” by Debra Moffitt).
You note that New York State requires “a coordinated environmental review and only one entity can serve as lead agency.” NYS policy in this case effectively deprives one town or the other of its home rule right to review a project within its own district. It privileges the developer by making the proposed project bigger than the towns involved. Yet there is no obvious reason to do so, except the administrative convenience of the DEC and the interests of the developers in minimizing review. There is nothing uniting this proposed project except the developers choosing to call it one project. Why is that their call?
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