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____ELECTION 2023____

By DEBORAH E. LANS

CHATHAM – This November Chatham voters will decide whether to create the first Community Preservation Fund in the county. The fund would be dedicated to helping to preserve land from development in order to protect the rural character of the community, particularly agricultural areas that provide open space and protect clean water.

The ballot initiative is Proposition 3 (Propositions 1 and 2 are statewide proposals). It has its roots in Chatham’s 2009 Comprehensive Plan, which cited the preservation of farmland as a key focus for the town; was enabled by authorization obtained from the state to create a fund more than a decade ago; and has reached the ballot through the support of the town board, according to Chatham Town Board member Abi Mesick.

The fund would raise money through a “transfer tax” – in other words, a fee levied when a property is sold – paid by the buyer of the property. Importantly, only those sales that are for an amount exceeding the median sales price of residential real property within the county – currently $375,000 – would be subject to the tax, and only the sales proceeds in excess of that amount are subject to the tax. The tax rate is 1.5%. For example, if a property sold for $1,000,000, the buyer would be taxed on $625,000 (the excess of the sales price over the median county sales price) in the amount of $ 9975.

No general tax would be levied on town residents.

The town projects that it would raise $75,000 to $250,000 each year, depending on sales activity, through the transfer fee.

By law, the use of the fund would be decided by the town board, based on recommendations from a specially-created Advisory Board of five members, one of whom must be an active farmer.

“The process of selecting land will be transparent and rigorous,” according to Town Bard member Rick Werwaiss. No monies can be spent until a proposal has been vetted by the Advisory Board, reviewed by the Town Board, then debated at a public hearing and, finally, approved by the Town Board.

The expectation is not that the town will itself acquire property but, rather, that it will partner with other groups – such as the Columbia Land Conservancy (CLC), Scenic Hudson, or the state or federal government – to acquire either farmland or the development rights to the lands.

In the latter type of transaction, typically a farmer sells the right to develop its land to a conservation group, agreeing that the property will remain farmland forever. The farmer is paid for the diminution in the value of its land that results from the renunciation of future development. That payment in turn enhances the farmer’s ability to keep the land in farming, lowers the potential estate tax due as the property moves from one generation to the next and keeps the land affordable for future generations.

In the Hudson Valley, Red Hook, New Paltz, Marbletown, Warwick and Gardiner have passed similar legislation. Warwick, with matching funds from state and federal grants, has helped to preserve 21 farms since 2006. Red Hook has raised more than $3 million since 2007.

A recent Red Hook transaction is an example of how the seemingly inconsistent goals of protecting farmland and open space, on the one hand, and the construction of affordable housing, on the other, can be harmonized.

In Red Hook, a partnership of the town, Scenic Hudson and the Dutchess Land Conservancy recently protected 169 acres straddling Route 9 on the northern edge of the town. The town purchased the property outright, and Scenic Hudson acquired the development rights to 82 of those acres consisting of prime farmland. Another twelve acres were set aside for affordable housing and will be purchased from the town by an affordable housing developer. Some of the remaining acreage will be used to enhance adjacent public parks and the public water supply. Eventually, the town may sell the protected farmland for agricultural use. The town’s community preservation fund, among other sources, was used in the transaction.

Some might ask why a local preservation fund is necessary when funding may be available through land trusts, the state or federal grants. The answer, according to Mr. Werwaiss, is that existence of a fund allows the town “to have a seat at the table” when projects are under consideration and developing – in other words, to participate in the discussion as to the use of local lands – and to qualify for certain other funding.

As Ms. Mesick notes, creative partnerships, like the one in Red Hook, allow a town to serve the crucial goals of protecting open space and creating needed housing, often via desirable clustering rather than rural sprawl.

CLC President Troy Weldy sees “Prop 3” as a vehicle to “allow Chatham to remain an active farming community by working with willing farmers to protect their lands with provisions to keep the land affordable for future generations of farmers and to limit development to those actions that support farming operations. The rolling green open space we see today will forever be part of Chatham.”

More information, and the text of the proposed legislation, is available on the town website (chathamnewyork.us). A “yes” vote supports and a “no” vote rejects Prop 3.