A recent decision by the Appellate Division, Third Department, overturns prior decisions and affords local governments the general right to regulate structures built in navigable waters.
Almost a decade ago, the Appellate Division, Third Department, held that the state’s Navigation Law provided New York State with exclusive jurisdiction over structures located in navigable waters.1 Now, however, in a dispute over boathouses constructed in Lake Placid, the Third Department has rejected that rule and has concluded that the navigation law does not generally preempt the power of local municipalities to administer and enforce local land use laws. Instead, preemption is limited only to particular waters where the state, in its sovereign capacity, holds title to the land under those waters.
