Star Lake part of study

STAR LAKE — A study on the development of hamlets in the Adirondacks includes Star Lake and surrounding communities.

The study, funded by a state Department of Environmental Conservation Smart Growth grant, aims at protecting natural resources, preventing sprawl and stimulating economic growth. The grant is administered by the Adirondack Community Housing Trust.

"There's been over the years a lot of talk about the need for hamlet development in the Adirondacks. This is kind of a logical follow-through," said William B. Johnston, a member of the housing trust board. "The idea here is how can we expand in ways that meet the DEC's Smart Growth principles."

Smart Growth tries to integrate economic development and job creation with community quality of life by preserving the environment and what already has been built. It discourages development on open space.

"Here, we have plenty of room to grow inward," Fine Supervisor Mark C. Hall said.

Consultant Roger Trancik, professor emeritus at Cornell University, Ithaca, and students spent a week at Wanakena in the summer doing field research. Old Forge and Elizabethtown are included in this phase of the study. Two other hamlet studies have been produced since 1973.

Mr. Trancik wasn't available for comment, but Mr. Hall said he identified several areas as special, including Wanakena, with its central gazebo, and the industrial opportunities presented by Newton Falls Fine Paper and the former Jones & Laughlin site.

"They talked about a park in the middle of Star Lake if one could be developed," Mr. Hall said. "They had a nice conceptual design."

The goal of the study is to find underlying principles that can be applied at various locations while retaining their diversity.