Maintaining and building upon open space in the Town of Bethlehem will require not only the efforts of town government, but the cooperation of large landowners in the town.
That’s according to the findings of the town’s Citizens Advisory Committee on Conservation’s study on open space preservation. The report was compiled in July and presented to the Town Board on Wednesday, Oct. 14.
The report identifies existing open space resources in the town and outlines 15 recommendations to the Town Board for maintaining and expanding the town’s resources. While it is not an open space plan, said Senior Planner Robert Leslie, it sets the groundwork for moving forward.
What we have here is a good framework for addressing some of the issues related to open space, he said.
The Town Board commissioned the study in February of 2008`development of an open space protection plan was part of the 2005 comprehensive plan. Since then, the CACC has met 17 times to discuss the issue and has held four public comment sessions.
The committee identified and mapped three open space elements present in the town: recreational and pathways spaces, agricultural lands and natural areas. Agricultural preservation was studied in another recently completed report that ran concurrently with the open space effort.
It is important that the town acknowledge that the citizenry`especially large landowners with seven or more acres of land`will play a part in the process, said Leslie.
`Any type of open space protection in the town is really going to require the voluntary participation of landowners in the town,` he said.
CACC Chairwoman Libby Liebschutz echoed those thoughts, and added that the report represents a cooperative victory between sometimes conflicting points of view.
`The CACC really represents a cross section of interests in the town,` she said.
In meetings with landowners, a number of issues came to the forefront, including concerns about trespassing. The report states if landowners have issues with trespassers, who might use ATVs or snowmobiles on private property, they are less likely to leave their land undeveloped. Consequently, a dialogue between the police department and landowners should be developed, says the report.
The report brings another issue to light: how much the town will be willing to spend in pursuit of open space initiatives such as purchase of development rights or conservation easement programs, which essentially pay landowners to leave open space undeveloped.
The Town Board ultimately holds the decision of what elements of the report the town will pursue. Liebschutz said she hopes the board will direct the CACC to develop land feature criteria that can be used to assess the open space value of land and help the town make decisions when faced with a purchase opportunity.
`I regard that as an essential part of an open space plan. So I hope we move forward on that piece quickly,` she said.
Liebschutz also noted that with a proper open space plan in place, it would be much easier to seek out funding opportunities. Members of the Town Board said they would like to know more about how open space initiatives could be funded through government programs or groups like the Mohawk-Hudson Land Conservancy or the Open Space Institute.
`I definitely would like to see more research into not only those existing entities we are working with, but perhaps there are others out there,` said Councilman Kyle Kotary.
The report’s recommendations are broken into short, medium and long-term initiatives. They include making updates to the town code, forming a pathways committee (the PaTHS 4 Bethlehem Committee was formed in March) and planting trees along the right of way in certain areas.
`Trees are recognized as an opens space resource in the town. It at least gives a perception of open space in the developed areas of the town,` said Leslie.
The town retained the services of Behan Planning and Design of Saratoga Springs at a cost of approximately $25,000, said Leslie.
The CACC meets on the second Monday of the month, and meetings are open to the public. The entire Recommendations on Open Space Needs and Opportunities report can be viewed on the town’s Web site: www.townofbethlehem.org.
“