Orange County committee backs $4M boost, open-space fund reaches $7.5M

The Orange County Legislature’s Ways and Means Committee voted to add $4,000,000 to the county open space fund, bringing the reported total to $7,500,000. County planning officials framed the action as a reactivation of a program that previously ran from 2005 to 2009 and as a way to help local towns, land trusts and water suppliers preserve critical land.

County Planning Commissioner Alan Sorensen described the kinds of projects the fund can support, saying, "We can award projects up to 50 percent. This for open space acquisition, conservation easement for development rights, could be lands surrounding public water supply to protect water quality, could be for acquisition of parklands." Sorensen also explained that the request before the committee was to reactivate the Orange County Open Space Fund Program; county minutes state, "Mr. Sorensen explained that this is a request to reactivate the Orange County Open Space Fund Program. The program ran successfully from 2005 to 2009."

The committee also moved ahead with administrative steps to get the program running. Legislator Barry J. Cheney moved approval of the Guide for Project Evaluation for the 2024 Open Space Fund; the motion was seconded by Mr. Faggione and the minutes record "Motion carried. All in favor." County documents note that earlier concerns about subjective scoring led the County Attorney’s Office and Cheney to draft a "criteria that is much more objective with some of the resource categories to be [...]" with text in the minutes truncated.

County budget materials included a related line: "they have $1 million in the Orange County Open Space Fund subject to the new program criteria that has been established in the program guidelines." Those documents also listed a proposed schedule: "They are seeking to have the notice of funds available in August of 2024 with the first applications due by September 13, 2024." How that $1 million entry in the capital plan relates to the newly reported $7.5 million total was not detailed in the materials made available, leaving the accounting relationship between prior balances, the $4 million addition and the Capital Plan entry unclear.

Other committee business touched on farmland and local revenue tools. The minutes record one petition to join Orange County Agricultural District No. 1, a farm in the Town of Wawayanda reviewed and site-visited by the Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board, and show Mr. Faggione moved to approve the SEQRA Short Environmental Assessment Form for that inclusion, seconded by Ms. Sutherland, with the motion carried. Separately, Cheney moved to continue the county hotel and motel room occupancy tax under Local Law No. 13 of 2009 for another three years; that motion carried as well.

For Orange County residents, the revived open space program could mean stronger local support for park expansions, conservation easements that limit development pressure, and protection of lands around water supplies. County officials indicated the full county legislature will approve the appropriation at its next monthly meeting in February; the Guide for Project Evaluation was moved forward by the committee and will shape how towns and nonprofits compete for awards that Sorensen said can cover up to half of eligible project costs.

What comes next is a closer look at the program rules and the fund accounting. Residents and municipal officials should watch for the finalized evaluation guide, the county release of a notice of funds available, and any roll-call vote details from the full legislature that confirm the $4 million addition and how the $7.5 million total is distributed.