By Rick Jozewiak, The Olean Times Herald, Tuesday, January 25, 2000
The Cattaraugus Local Development Corp. finished the sale of about 540 parcels to homeowners landlocked by the former Enchanted Lake Development.
Rick LeFeber, executive director of the non-profit Development Corp., said the lots and an additional 35 acres was deeded over to the Napoli Development Corp. Friday afternoon.
The Napoli Development Corp. was formed by 14 homeowners landlocked on quarter-acre sized lots inside the 25-year-old defunct Enchanted Lake Development. Originally, developers had planned a recreation community with a manmade lake, and some people bought property and built homes.
The project was abandoned when plans for a dam fell through and the county eventually foreclosed on much of the property. Developer James Zaepfel of Williamsville later bought the land at a tax title property auction.
Mr. Zaepfel had planned to develop the property, but his plans fell through. Mr. LaFeber's Local Development Corp. agreed to take the property as a donation, which included one year's back taxes. The amount owed for taxes was $50,000.
The Local Development Corp. conveyed the land to the Napoli Development Corp. through quick claim deeds, which will require the homeowners' organization to pay the back taxes on those parcels.
The transfer amounted to about 200 acres, which will pay for about $37,000 of the back taxes, Mr. LaFeber said.
"For the people already living there, this allows them to pick up adjacent property" and expand the size of their lots, he said. "They now have sufficient land to create the five-acre minimums to meet County Health Department requirements for septic and well."
When the development was first planned, some property owners built homes before water and sewer services were installed. When the development was first planned, some property owners built homes before water and sewer services were installed. When the development project folded, homeowners were left using wells and septic storage tanks. With no resolution foreseeable, the Health Department eventually gave the homeowners variances to install residential septic systems.
Mr. LaFeber's organization is still exploring possibilities for developing some of the remaining 900 acres and protecting wetlands. the organization plans to apply to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wetlands Reserve Program, which would provide some tax saving benefits.
The 500 to 700 acres that will eventually become protected land will be named the James A. Zaepfel Preserve, in honor of his gift to the development corporation, Mr. LaFeber said. The deal between Mr. Zaepfel and the development corporation was organized by Napoli Town Clerk Tammy Buchardt and the town's board.
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