Study Recommends A $10 Million Open Space Fund

By Jan Howard

A study recently received by First Selectman Herb Rosenthal recommends that the Town of Newtown borrow $10 million to fund the purchase of open space.

Mr Rosenthal said Wednesday that he plans to have a joint meeting of the Board of Selectmen, Board of Finance, and Legislative Council sometime in April to discuss the report with Tim Northrop of Newtown, the state director of The Trust for Public Land, which completed the study.

Mr Rosenthal said an approved bonding proposal would give the town authorization to purchase parcels of lands as they became available without going through the long process of approvals from town agencies and residents. “It would take months to get approval,” he said.

Having the funds available would be an advantage, he said. “We would have the money available when lands become available so they would come to us before going to developers,” he said. “It would encourage them to talk to us first before putting their land on the open market.”

“It’s my plan to go for a single authorization of $10 million to be spent over a period of five years,” Mr Rosenthal said.

The study recommends the lump sum bonding authorization for open space acquisition to provide Newtown with the most flexibility in pursuing purchases. It notes that adopting such a program now is increasingly important given the uncertainty surrounding the state’s ability to partner with the town and help fund open space acquisition, and the rapid development of Newtown’s remaining vacant lands.

The Board of Finance included $1 million per year for the purchase of open space in the recently approved five-year Capital Improvement Plan and proposes an increase to $2 million in the proposed 2004-05 budget.

Mr Rosenthal said there are other options in addition to purchase, such as through conservation easements. The town could also look for grants from the federal and state governments to help with open space purchases.

“We don’t have to just rush out and spend $10 million,” he said.

According to the report, some nonrevenue options include donations of land or interests in land, subdivision open space, fees in lieu of open space, regulatory measures, and partnering with the state government or nonprofits to protect open land.

Mr Rosenthal said the benefits in purchasing open space could be argued in two ways, economic and as a quality of life issue.

The purpose of open space acquisition is to slow growth and curb rising taxes. Mr Rosenthal said that subdivisions of new homes cost more in taxes than they generate in revenue so purchases of open space would save money in additional services in the future.

“For the most part houses, unless they are very expensive, do not generate in taxes what they demand in services,” he said.

In regard to quality of life, he said preserving open areas helps to eliminate traffic congestion and air pollution and conserves water.

“You could make the argument based only on the quality of life issue,” he said, but the town also has the economic issue.

“I’m hopeful the public will have a positive reaction,” Mr Rosenthal said. “I’m hoping they see this as one of the more effective ways of slowing residential growth.”

The study, Land Conservation Funding Options, explores and summarizes the demographics, economics, and fiscal status of the town, the legal authority for generating and dedicating revenue for conservation of open space, and the revenue raising capacity of several financing tools.

The introduction and summary of the study notes that a range of public financing options has been utilized to fund parks and land conservation, including the property tax, local sales tax, general obligation bonds, and others.

Newtown is one of the fastest growing towns in Connecticut, the study notes. Between 1990 and 2000, the town’s population increased by 20.5 percent (or 4,252 people) compared to the state’s 3.5 percent. Census figures reveal that the growth that occurred between 1990 and 2000 was greater than the aggregate population growth experienced in the previous two decades. Between 1990 and 2000, Newtown experienced the greatest percent increase in total housing units in Fairfield County, adding roughly 1,320 new housing units.

According to the study, creating a land conservation program with a dedicated, long-term funding source would enable Newtown to act proactively to protect important conservation and recreation lands currently being lost to development, while also helping to preserve the town’s quality of life.

The reasons to protect land are numerous, the study states. Some examples are prime farmland, land with extraordinary scenic qualities or views, or wetlands that provide habitat for wildlife or serve as a source of drinking water.

The sense that Newtown is developing too rapidly may also be a motivating reason for saving a large parcel of farmland, the report states. A study by UConn found that between 1985 and 2002 showed that developed land in Newtown increased by 30 percent.

According to the study, 33 percent, or 13,000 acres of open lands, were developed for residential subdivisions over the past 20 years. Newtown’s current inventory of public and privately protected open space is estimated at 5,788 acres, approximately 14.8 percent of its land area. As a gauge toward the town’s goal of protecting 21 percent of its land as open space, as recommended by the Ad Hoc Open Space Task Force, an additional 2,400 acres needs to be protected by the public and private sectors.

The study also explores ways to raise funds for land acquisition, such as general obligation bonds, lump sum bonding, and others.

Mr Rosenthal said the town financial director, Ben Spragg, reviewed and approved all financial data in the study.

The purpose of the study, recently approved by the Board of Selectmen, was to determine what is an appropriate amount of funding and how to take the research, develop it, and lead to financing.

The Board of Selectmen first discussed strategies for funding open space acquisition in October when Mr Northrop made a presentation regarding a feasibility analysis of bonding to finance local open space acquisition.

At that time, Mr Northrop said the purchase of open space land improves the quality of life in a community and protects natural and historic resources for future generations. “Community vision includes the need for a plan to identify areas in town that need extra protection,” Mr Northrop said.

He said that people support taxes for land conservation, pointing to open space bonds in other communities in Connecticut that have received an average of 72 percent approval.

The Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit corporation, has 35 offices in the United States and assists communities in developing strategies for protection of open space.

The Open Space Task Force has identified land parcels of more than ten acres and has asked the owners to contact the town when they intend to sell.