A municipal court judge in Glenville, N.Y., has ruled that Mountain Ridge Adventure—a treetop challenge course and aerial zip line business—does not require a local amusement park permit to continue operating.
The municipality of Glenville had claimed that Mountain Ridge Adventure owners Michael and Olivia Cellini were required to obtain an amusement park permit from the Town Board before the park opened to the public. Had town justice Jennifer McPhail found in favor of the town, the Cellinis would have had to pay a fine of $250 per day, retroactive to the business’ grand opening back in June.
A unique element at Mountain Ridge Adventure in Glenville, NY
The Cellinis had obtained an operating permit from the New York State Labor Department prior to opening, and asserted that was sufficient.
The crux of the case rested upon whether a zip line is considered a mechanical device, thus falling under the classification of “amusement device.”
“The court finds that there is a lack of proof setting forth that because the zip line trolley has wheels, it becomes a mechanical device as it would be intended by the town of Glenville code,” McPhail wrote, adding that evidence presented by the town didn’t prove definitively that Mountain Ridge “operated mechanical equipment exclusive of equipment ordinarily classed as playground equipment,” as outlined in the town code.
The town has opted not to appeal the judge’s decision.
1 Comment
Thank you, Sarah, for the article. I will be giving a class at the ACCT conference talking about starting a new adventure park business. I will be specifically discussing NIMBYism, their political strong arming and how to best deal with the situation.
As a new park owner, I’ve learned an incredible amount of information that I’d like to share with potential new park owners so that they can learn from my lessons.
Michael