Chester creates preservation fund to protect open space and farmland

Chester took a direct step toward paying for the land it wants to keep out of the development market. The Town Board voted June 10 to create a Community Preservation Fund and appointed an advisory board that will help shape the plan before any November 2026 referendum on a 0.75 percent real estate transfer tax.

If voters approve the tax, the money would come from property sales and be dedicated to conservation work instead of the general town budget. The board’s next decision will matter as much as the vote itself, because the town board must approve the preservation plan before Chester can move ahead with the tax question and begin spending any money.

The fund is designed to cover a broad list of uses: open space, parklands, farmlands, trail rights-of-way, agricultural and conservation easements, stewardship planning, recreational development and historic sites. That gives Chester a tool for protecting not just scenic acreage, but working land and parcels that can shape where roads, subdivisions and other projects go next.

The advisory board was built to reflect that mix. Town materials said applicants with conservation or land-preservation experience and active farmers would receive special consideration, and members will serve without compensation. The appointed group includes a longtime preservation advocate, a former comprehensive-plan and zoning-board member, a Black Dirt farmer, a land-use attorney and another farmer, a lineup meant to bring practical, legal and agricultural experience to the table.

Not everyone on the Town Board embraced the pace or the cost. One councilman abstained because he had not had enough time to speak with the candidates, while another abstained over concerns about new costs for homeowners and buyers. That split captures the central tension in Chester’s debate: supporters see the fund as a way to preserve the town’s rural character, while critics are watching for another transaction tax that would fall on people buying and selling property.

The effort has been years in the making. Town officials said Chester waited about six years for state approval, which came in 2025. The town has already shown how preservation can work without spending local money, accepting about 13 acres tied to the Oak Woods subdivision near Camp Monroe Road, Lakes Road and Lake Hill Farms. Four homes will go on the front part of that property, while Chester kept the back portion as open space.

The preservation push is unfolding alongside other land-use fights, including Chester’s separate moratorium and proposed permanent restrictions on large-scale battery energy storage systems. At the same time, the board approved a separate local law spelling out how more than $1.3 million in highway paving money will be spent, a reminder that Chester is trying to balance ordinary municipal needs with long-term decisions about growth, taxes and property rights.