The Administration Services Division is responsible for all fiscal management, contract administration, personnel management, physical plan management, and office support. This staff of five is responsible for all fiscal matters relating to the Agency including: preparation of purchase orders and vouchers, determination of division allocations, fiscal record keeping, determination of the availability of funds for division programs and computerization of fiscal records. Administration Division staff also prepare and administer grants and contracts; implement of staffing and reorganization efforts, and develop and implement effective communication and coordination between staff and interagency activities such as training programs and workshops.

Economic Services

The Economic Services Unit works in close coordination with other Agency divisions to provide expertise in real estate market and financial feasibility analysis, economic and fiscal impact analysis, economic development planning, and organizational development assistance. The Agency responds to its statutory mandates and its economic and other policies through its planning, policy review, land use regulatory and technical assistance activities. The Economic Services Unit provides general public guidance on development sites, and assists project sponsors, economic developers and planners in the evaluation of specific business development sites. In addition, the Agency’s Special Assistant to Economic Services provides guidance to local officials in economic and community development planning and ensures that viable economic improvement strategies are responsive to the legal, policy, and technical requirements of the Agency.

Public Information

The Public Information Unit is responsible for Agency communications and outreach, including press releases, social media, and other communications. This staff of two coordinates with all divisions and Agency partners to ensure that the public and stakeholders are well-informed about issues before the Agency and connected with resources related to projects.

Fast Facts

Developing a Business in the Adirondack Park Frequently Asked Questions

The Adirondack Park Agency’s Legal Division is responsible for all the legal business of the Agency, which primarily involves the administration of the Adirondack Park Agency Act (Executive Law, Article 27); the Wild, Scenic and Recreational Rivers System Act (Environmental Conservation Law, Title 15, Article 27), and the Freshwater Wetlands Act (Environmental Conservation Law, Title 8, Article 24). The Legal Division is also responsible for application of related statutes such as the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA); the Open Meetings Law (Public Officers Law, Article 7); and the Freedom of Information Law (Public Officers Law, Article 6). The Legal Division consists of three major components: the Office of Counsel, the Jurisdictional Inquiry Unit, and the Enforcement Officers Unit.

The Adirondack Park Agency’s Planning Division is responsible for administering and maintaining the State Land Master Plan; completing the ongoing review of the private land plan for the Park; leading all Agency activities related to information, data and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) management and analysis; processing amendments to the Adirondack Park Land Use and Development Plan Map; identifying and developing Park policy; long-range planning and policy development; and providing Park policy advice and direction. In addition to these responsibilities, the six professional staff and two-person support staff, provide extensive and essential technical and administrative support to other Agency functions and programs.

Local Government Services

Given the number of active local planning programs in the region, the decisions made by local governments impact the Adirondack economy and environment. In this sense, the task of land use management is a shared responsibility between the Agency and the Park’s local government officials. The Local Government Services division at the Agency works with individual towns in the Park to assist them in planning, zoning, and administering Agency approved local land use programs, this includes meeting with local boards on many aspects of planning, from the challenge of starting a local plan for the first time, to fine-tuning or amending existing regulations. Local Government Services staff also provides assistance to communities by attending community meetings, providing written advice, designing workshops, and providing plan and code review.

State Land

The Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan (APSLMP) is the guiding document for the development and management of the State lands in the Park and can be viewed in its entirety.

Primary activities frequently requiring advice of the State Land Program include:

• review of unit management plans prepared by the DEC (and the Olympic Regional Development Authority under the authority of the DEC) for their consistency with the APSLMP;
• consultation with the DEC concerning proposed State land projects, as well as review of past or ongoing State land projects and activities, for their consistency with the APSLMP;
• classification of new State land acquisitions in the Adirondack Park;
• production of the Adirondack Park State Land Map and regular updates of it to reflect new acquisitions and technical corrections;
• interpretation and periodic revision of the APSLMP.

Information about State Land in the Adirondack Park

Fast Facts

State Land Master Plan -- (pdf 440kb)
Adirondack Park Trends Analysis Plan -- (pdf 457kb)
GIS at the APA
Land Use Area Classification Acreage Statistics

In addition to its permitting and advisory review functions, the Regulatory Programs Division shares responsibility with other Agency units in ensuring compliance with the laws the Agency administers and the permits it issues; assisting the public, local governments and other agencies in their associations with the Agency, and providing necessary field investigations and reports to support the work of the Agency's RASS and Enforcement units. The division's 12 staff members provide project guidance and assessment, preliminary consultations for complex or otherwise significant projects, and apply review standards for submitted applications. Upon receiving a project application, Regulatory Division staff has 15 days, upon receipt, to determine the completion of the application. As with all divisions, Regulatory Programs relies on the expertise of Agency staff of not only the staff within the unit, but all other units and division staff.

The Resource Analysis and Scientific Services staff provides the Agency with technical, analytic, and expert support in a variety of natural resource skills. These skills are used in support of Agency activities in such program areas as permitting, planning, legal, public relations, community and local government services, environmental education and interpretation and economic development. Staff makes expert determinations connected with professional engineering, water quality, soils, wildlife, and wetlands. The unit is also charged with most duties arising out of the Agency’s administration of the statewide Freshwater Wetlands Act within the Adirondack Park, including making wetland determinations, drafting regulations and permits, mapping, and testifying at public hearings.

Fast Facts

See additional projects involving RASS staff at the Agency's Research page.

RASS staff have provided direction and support for the Adirondack Park Invasives Plant Program. Visit their site at www.adkinvasives.com