Editor, The Spotlight;
The Bethlehem Board of Education will soon vote to approve or not the conservation easement program school tax reduction. The Board will hopefully vote to support this program to help protect green space in Bethlehem. The cost to residents is projected by Town planners to be between $0.35 and $0.65 for a $250,000 home.
Green or open space in a community saves more money than it costs. It holds back rising tax dollars, maintains property values, attracts new businesses, and preserves our community’s environmental character and our residents’ quality of life.
Saving land saves you money. In the long run, the cost of an Open Space Program is more than offset by savings because over time, residential development causes taxes to rise. Cost of Community Services studies in New York have repeatedly shown that for every dollar in taxes generated by an average-size single-family residence, these same residences require more than a dollar of services for schools and infrastructure such as water, sewer and roads. In studies of 12 diverse communities in New York, for every $1 the community received in taxes, it spent an average of $1.32 to provide services to a residence, compared with $0.24 for commercial development and $0.36 for open space.
Saving land preserves property values. Residences in Bethlehem are more valuable because of the nearby parks, woodlands, farms and fields that provide recreation opportunities or scenic vistas. Studies show that communities with diverse open space can better attract and keep businesses and workers. Higher property values and a good business climate help support the town’s tax base.
Saving land saves our local farms. Under an Open Space Program, farmers who elect to participate can be paid for the additional value the land would bring if developed, spend or invest the cash as they wish, and keep farming.
Saving land is a cost-effective way to keep our air and water clean. Excessive development brings with it more roads, more cars and more land covered with buildings and blacktop. The result is more polluted stormwater runoff entering local waterways, more car exhaust damaging our air and more displaced wildlife killed on roads. In contrast, forests and fields provide habitat, absorb air pollution and release oxygen, naturally absorb rainfall, and help prevent erosion and flooding. These natural systems are efficient and essential to our environmental integrity.
Saving land saves Bethlehem’s character. Bethlehem has a small town character, but it is vulnerable to becoming just another sprawling suburb unless we act to protect the open spaces around our developed areas. The places where we walk, bicycle, play, and explore; the beauty we enjoy; and the friends and family with whom we share these things make this our community and our home. If the remaining land is converted to suburban sprawl, we will have a predictable landscape and a soul-less town.
Is this what we want? Over 900 Bethlehem residents signed a petition to support an open space program.
Lisa L. Evans
Selkirk