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Commission limits Hague dock: south pier reduced to 6 feet in variance approval
Summary
The Lake George Park Commission approved Resolution 2026-07 for a Hague dock variance, requiring the south pier be limited to 6 feet and attaching the plan (option 1) pending a second public comment period with no substantive comments; the applicant requested the commission consider the mean bisector rather than the property line.
The Lake George Park Commission approved a variance for a dock on a Hague property on Feb. 24, adopting a motion and a written resolution (recorded as Resolution 2026-07) that approves "option 1" with the south pier reduced to 6 feet and with interior triangles added, contingent on completion of the second public comment period and no substantive comments.
The applicant asked the commission to "consider the mean bisector instead of the property line" when assessing the setback because of the angle of the property line and overlapping ownership interests among related LLCs, and argued a lot-line adjustment was impractical. "What I'm asking you to look at is to consider the mean bisector instead of the property line," the applicant said during his presentation to the commission.
Commission discussion focused on three design options and on the commission's standard of granting the least variance necessary. Staff and commissioners noted that the angled property line produced a practical difficulty; but several commissioners said the record did not provide adequate justification for an 8-foot pier and that reducing width to 6 feet would lower the degree of nonconformity. An agency official referenced regional DEC guidance favoring 6-foot maximum piers; commissioners agreed they could consider such guidance but that local regulations control. One commissioner summarized the policy position: the commission must "grant the least variance necessary," and the board found the reduced-width option consistent with that principle.
Resolution details: the commission read and adopted Resolution 2026-07 approving the applicant's plan as option 1 with the conditional modification that the south pier be reduced to 6 feet; the approval was contingent on the second public comment period as spelled out in the resolution language. The roll call was recorded in the transcript as ayes and the motion carried (the meeting transcript does not list a full roll-call of individual member names at the point where the ayes were recorded).
Why it matters: the decision illustrates how the commission balances shoreline property rights and navigation/safety concerns against its regulatory standard to minimize variance. The condition to reduce a pier's width is intended to limit the physical footprint seaward of the 20-foot setback and reduce potential environmental and visual impacts on neighboring properties.
