Court: Town exceeded authority in granting permit to baseball camp

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February 21, 2012

BY JOE MAHONEY Staff Writer The Daily Star Tue Feb 21, 2012, 02:30 AM EST

COOPERSTOWN -- A youth baseball camp has been caught off base -- with a state appellate court ruling that officials in a Herkimer County town exceeded their authority when they issued it a building permit.

Diamond Dreams of Cooperstown LTD, catering to girls' softball teams, markets itself for its proximity to Cooperstown, even though it is located just outside Otsego County in the Herkimer County town of Warren, along U.S. Route 20.

The camp's website, www.diamonddreams.net, states it is located on 62 acres, "with stunning views of Otsego Lake," "just 10 miles north of Cooperstown," and close to Glimmerglass Opera, the Fenimore Art Museum, the Farmers' Museum, the Otesaga Hotel and other popular attractions.

In a decision last week, the Appellate Division, Fourth Judicial Department, voided the approvals that the Warren Town Board had granted.

Attorney Douglas Zamelis of Springfield, representing neighbors who opposed the project, said the town board agreed to waive a required impact assessment through the State Environmental Quality Review Act.

"As petitioners correctly contend, the town board was ineligible to act as lead agency for SEQRA purposes," the court ruled.

It's unclear how the ruling will impact Diamond Dreams' plan to operate in the upcoming softball tournament season. No mention of the legal battle or the court ruling is included on the company's website.

The attorney for Diamond Dreams, Andrew Leja of Syracuse, said in an emailed reply to an inquiry from The Daily Star: "I do not feel comfortable discussing the court decision with you until after I have been authorized to do so by my client."

Warren Town Board Chairman Richard Jack could not be reached for comment. A relative who answered the phone at his house said he was at his nightshift job.

Martin Harding of Warren, one of the neighbors who took Diamond Dreams to court, said he was pleased with the decision.

Zamelis said Diamond Dreams, which has no affiliation with Cooperstown Dreams Park, has spawned several consumer complaints.

In December, a Philadelphia television station, WTXF, reported that a girls softball team from Abington, Pa., was still waiting for a refund of a $1,750 deposit it made to enter a tournament at Diamond Dreams.

According to the report -- which is also linked on a Facebook page set up by unhappy customers of Diamond Dreams -- the team was informed last June that the tournament had been canceled because too many teams had pulled out.

According to the Better Business Bureau website, upstateny.bbb.org/, there have been four consumer complaints filed against Diamond Dreams since November 2010.