Ballot Proposal 4 hits very close to home.
The official ballot text for Proposal # 4 reads as follows:
Settling Disputed Title in the Forest Preserve
The proposed amendment to section 1 of article 14 of the Constitution would authorize the Legislature to settle longstanding disputes between the State and private entities over ownership of certain parcels of land in the town of Long Lake, Hamilton County. In exchange for giving up its claim to disputed parcels, the State would get land to be incorporated into the forest preserve that would benefit the forest preserve more than the disputed parcels currently do. Shall the proposed amendment be approved?
What it Means?
This has been appropriately described as the “queen of all property title disputes”, predating both the Adirondack Park and the Forest Preserve. Titles to 216 parcels of land, equating to approximately 1,000 acres, on the shores of Raquette Lake in Long Lake, Hamilton County, New York, have been in dispute for the past century. The land was originally incorporated into New York, which was a colony at the time, as the “Totten and Crossfield Purchase” in 1771 and was known as “Township 40.”
The state claims that the lands under dispute were purchased from private residents in a tax sales in the late 1800s. Both the state and private residents, a utilities company, a fire department and a public school have conflicting ownership claims on the land. Some disputes have been resolved in courts, but others have not been due to the lack of ownership proof by any of the parties. Because the residents do not have clear and obvious titles to the land, many have been denied title insurances and certain loans. Attempted once in 2007, private landowners backed out of an exchange due to what they deemed to be too high of fees demanded by the state.
In return for settling the dispute, the state would gain land to be incorporated into the forest preserve at no cost to taxpayers.
Here is a video made by those who support a “Yes” vote.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udwzkmpNZ58#t=20