Advice From A Preservationist—

Finance Board Considers

 Benefits Of Open Space

The Board of Finance has taken what appears to be the first tentative step toward establishing criteria for funding open space purchases. Board members, for the second time since May, engaged in a lengthy discussion with Tim Northrup of the New Haven-based Trust for Public Land.

In February, the trust generated a 25-page report detailing Land Conservation Funding Options, and Mr Northrup explained that this week’s meeting would allow him to answer any additional questions Finance Board members might have about particular points of the in-depth study.

Following nearly an hour of conversation and clarifications, during which Mr Northrup provided details of successful land acquisition practices in a number of other Connecticut towns, board chairman John Kortze secured a verbal commitment from Mr Northrup to continue consulting with the town.

During the discussion, Mr Northrup said his group examined the financial impact to the town, if taxpayers agreed to pursue bonding up to $10 million to help protect and preserve open space. The $10 million figure did not seen to sit well with Mr Kortze, however.

“Once you float that $10 million, we need to plug that figure in to something everyone can understand,” Mr Kortze said. “I don’t know if it makes sense to say $10 million. I’m not so sure we can write that big a check for public land acquisition.”

Mr Kortze inquired as to where the hypothetical $10 million figure came from.

Mr Northrup said the number was tendered by First Selectman Herbert Rosenthal.

“The First Selectman thought that level of bonding would be appropriate,” Mr Northrup said. “We [The Trust] looked at the financial impact of a $1 to $10 million [expenditure] for Newtown, and my report finds up to $10 million to be prudent and justifiable.”

In comparing and contrasting the ways Newtown might accomplish establishing both the financial backing and policies to acquire open space, Mr Northrup touched upon a range of practices that have served other communities.

“Most towns seek voter approval for an open space bond, but don’t issue the bond until or unless it’s needed for open space protection,” he said. “Once a parcel is identified, it is brought forward to bond for that acquisition. Conceptually it’s like a preapproved line of credit.”

Board member Michael Portnoy asked if it was common for a community to aspire to conserve 20 percent or more land as permanent open space.

Mr Northrup suggested a better way to consider acquisitions might be to use an acreage goal as a guide. “Usually that 20 percent figure is ambitious, but not based on a deep level of analysis,” he said. “We try to work with towns to underpin the criteria with scientific analysis.”

He detailed a particular initiative in New Hartford, in which town leaders and taxpayers backed a $1.5 million bond specifically for acquisition. Other communities have enjoyed a greater measure of success by purchasing land rights that enable the owners to continue occupying, and in the case of family farmers, working, the property.

“In the end, those rights are transferable, but that program allows landowners to stay on the property, it gets them cash flow for the operation plus it reduces the estate tax against survivors,” Mr Northrup said.

Board member Harrison Waterbury asked whether an option to buy would serve equally well.

Mr Northrup replied that although that option gives the town a measure of control, and sometimes costs very little, the option to purchase agreement typically is only extended for a one or two-year period.

“Then you have to exercise it, or you lose it,” said Mr Northrup. “Another option is for the town to purchase development rights, which on the surface may seem expensive. But even paying 90 percent for development rights saves you the long-term cost of maintaining [the property].”

Board member James Gaston inquired whether the trust would perform a bona fide economic analysis, but Mr Northrup said the trust was not equipped to provide that level of support.

“The Trust for Public Land doesn’t have the expertise to do it for an entire municipality,” said Mr Northrup. “We use calculations based on a 50-lot subdivision, the cost to bond, the cost of school children, and the estimated market rate for particular parcels. There’s typically a big enough body of evidence to suggest an economic benefit for a community to make such an acquisition.”

Mr Northrup pointed out a recent initiative in Monroe where the town agreed to bond $5 million for a couple of properties. “They came up with a formula and determined there would be a payback on age-restricted housing, even though the savings would only be realized way into the future, and the voters approved it,” Mr Northrup said.

He pointed out that South Windsor did small incremental bonding initiatives to achieve their goal, while Fairfield recently authorized a $50 million bond, “…but it took five years for Fairfield to reach that agreement,” said Mr Northrup.

Mr Northrup suggested the town begin considering or targeting properties not based on the size of the parcel, but on its proximity to other parcels of already protected land. He said utilizing digital mapping would greatly reduce the amount of work required to qualify the best parcels for possible acquisition.

Contacted following the meeting, First Selectman Herbert Rosenthal said he welcomed the support of Mr Northrup’s group to help Newtown reach its goal of conserving at least 20 percent of the town’s land as protected open space.

“We’re considering many different options to reach our goal,” Mr Rosenthal said. “Twenty percent may seem a bit aggressive, but I believe it’s attainable.”

Mr Rosenthal said he favors a multi-faceted approach combining up to $2 million in annual town bonding for each of five years, combined with donations, development rights, state and federal preservation grants, life estates and other programs. He also hopes to continue utilizing the expertise of Mr Northrup and the trust.

“The trust has a lot of experience doing this in Connecticut, and they have already worked with us at no cost to secure a state grant,” he said. “The group also developed a Land Conservation Funding report at a very reasonable cost, so I look forward to working with them as we continue to enhance the quality of life through open space acquisitions here in Newtown.”