City Council should soon get legislation that will authorize the sale of city-owned land around Hemlock and Canadice Lakes to the state.

In a statement released over the weekend, Mayor Bob Duffy said the city and state Department of Environmental Conservation have come to an agreement over the land and that legislation will be sent to Council later this week. The full details won't be released until Council gets the legislation, Duffy said.

The city owns over 7,000 acres around the lakes, which it bought between the 1890s and 1950s. The lakes are the source of a good portion of the city's drinking water, and the land, which covers the lakes' watersheds, was purchased to protect the water quality. As a result, Canadice and Hemlock are the only two Finger Lakes whose shorelines remain undeveloped.

The city and the state began negotiating a transfer of the land in mid-2007, about the same time the city began negotiating a new water-sharing agreement with the Monroe County Water Authority. The city-water authority discussions are ongoing.