Ideas run circles around Heath Farm
GLENMONT–Though light on detail, committee presenters Roberta Lukasiewicz and Mark Warford said their recommendations focus on farming, education, and recreational opportunities that connect with nature while showing the Historic Heath Farm Advisory Committee’s “vision plan” before Bethlehem Town Board members Wednesday, Jan. 22.
Town Open Space Coordinator Lauren Axford said the Committee was tasked with crafting a strategic direction and, “That’s what they delivered,” she said. “The plan is very visiony.”
Axford called the vision plan a “real conversation starter.” She expects it to “jump-start community engagement.”
The Committee, which met many times in 2024, made four specific recommendations, including enrolling the property in Albany County’s Ag District #3 and protecting the land in perpetuity with conservation easements. It also recommended ensuring the land remains available for farming through lease or sale to farmers at agricultural value and exploring the creation of an agricultural center.
According to the Committee, an agricultural center would provide space for multiple farmers to access land and share equipment and infrastructure. The Heath Farm’s barn could be used as a wash/pack station, storage, farm store, commercial kitchen, or workshop/meeting space. It could also provide community education to promote agriculture.
Lukasiewicz said developing an agricultural center would require additional time and investigation and day-to-day management and oversight by a not-for-profit partner.
Axford stressed that Town Supervisor David VanLuven has promised that the Town is not getting into the farming business. Any agricultural center would have to be operated by an independent not-for-profit.
Warford, a professional educator, wholly supported using the property for education. He said educating people about connectedness to the environment can have a “profound” impact. He said there should be “opportunities to learn about the land and the food that we grow.” Warford named community gardens, walking trails, orchards, or pollinator-friendly landscapes as such opportunities.
Lukasiewicz said partnership collaboration and funding are needed for the vision’s success. She said it will take time to build relationships, navigate municipal government processes, and secure funding. No timetable was given.
Axford explained that because this project is about forming strategic partnerships, “you can’t flip a switch. It takes time and intention.” She said many partnerships have already started being built.
In the meantime, Axford said incremental steps will be taken to get started. The first step, as recommended by the Committee, will be enrolling the land in Ag District #3 when the enrollment period opens on February 1. Axford said as development encroaches on farmland, program enrollment affords farmers protection from nuisance lawsuits, which can deter people from entering farming.
In addition, the Town will shortly release lease opportunities for the 2025 growing season for 216 acres. Axford said the long-term plan is to have multiple farmers lease the land, but at present, the Town is unsure whether it will move forward for 2025 with more than one farmer.
Committee member David Vigoda, a farming proponent, said during the meeting’s public comment period he recognizes Bethlehem residents are skeptical that farming can work here.
Axford said attracting farmers is realistic. She said one project partner reported that at least 30 farmers or farm businesses are already interested in farming in Bethlehem. “There are a lot of first-generation farmers working on other people’s land who don’t have the capital to compete with a developer in an open market,” Axford said. Leasing Heath Farm land would give them that opportunity.
In the future, Axford said selling the land is also possible. She explained that the land would be sold with an agricultural conservation easement to prevent development and remain as farmland. However, with the land subject to an easement, it would have to be sold at “agricultural value” rather than full market value.
Axford was unfazed by the lower selling price. “We would not be selling it to recoup an investment,” she said. “When we bought the land for $3 million, it was not our intention to make back the money as an investment.” Instead, Axford said, the land was purchased to preserve it for conservation and farming.
However, even if the Town opted to sell the land, a sale will not happen in the near future. Axford said the land would have to first be appraised, have the value of development rights and the remaining agricultural value determined. “All that takes time,” she said.
During the public comment period preceding the presentation, town residents made opposing pitches for the land’s usage. Five Bethlehem Central High School cross-country team runners asked that running trails be installed. Sophomore Eli Ketzer said including trails for competitive running would provide softer, safer surfaces to run on. Teammate and junior Miles McCartey said because farmland requires roads to drive equipment over, running trails are compatible with farm use.
One resident countered that despite her child being on the track and field team, the land should be preserved exclusively for farming. “Two years ago we voted to preserve farmland,” she said. “Sorry kids, I love track and field, but that is not the place for it.”
Max Cooperman and Vivian Wall, members of the high school’s environmental club, both said the land should be used for environmental education.
“It’s a unique project for the Town and the opportunity is unique,” Axford said. “I think that is a good thing.”