Preservation Advocates Urge Bedford to Maintain Open Space Tax

Faced with an unbearable tax burden, Katonah property owners Sean and Patricia O'Donnell considered an offer from a developer for close to $700,000 to purchase and subdivide their land located on Ridge Road.

Given the property's location in the watershed and its link to wildlife corridors, the town refused their application for three lots, and approved the land to be sold as a single parcel. 

After they listed the property in 2007, Bedford's Open Space Acquisition Committee, in cooperation with the Westchester Land Trust, began negotiations with the Department of Environmental Protection.

Together with neighbors of the Ridge Road property, committee and the WLT finalized the sale to the  DEP on June 22, preserving the property in perpetuity, according to Sonja Lovas, the Houlihan Lawrence agent who helped broker the deal.

The property is one of several preserved through the work of the open space committee, a 10-year-old program that acquires selected acreage in the town and preserves it as open space. A permissive referendum to retain the committee and maintain a 3 percent property tax levy to pay for its work was agreed upon informally by board members Monday. The measure is expected to be voted on at the board's July 20 meeting.

The board's action followed a presentation by George Bianco, open space committee member and chairman of the WLT, who reviewed land-acquisition guidelines and traced over $4 million in land purchases since 2002. Land-acquisition programs obtain their money from property taxes—in Bedford's case a 3 percent surcharge on the general fund and highway budget, but not the school tax—and matching funds and grants.  

In the Ridge Road sale, the town contributed $340,000 through the open space fund, while $167,000 came from the DEP's "East of Hudson" fund, and the remaining $167,000 came from the neighbors of the property, according to Tom Andersen, WLT's acting executive director.

The open space code, passed in 2000, was renewed in 2005 by the town board. The board must decide whether to unilaterally reinstate the measure or do so by permissive referendum, or place it as a public referendum on the November ballot.

Town board member David Gabrielson expressed his support for the measure, noting that the special tax levy amounted to about $50-100 per household.

The fund currently holds $2,125,794 and averages $416,360 in annual receipts.

"It enables us to leverage with the state, county, and DEP," said Bianco. "There are more properties available than we can purchase now, and if it goes to public referendum, we will not have any flexibility if properties come up between now and November," he said.

Town Supervisor Lee Roberts favored the permissive referendum, along with Gabrielson and fellow board members Chris Burdick and Francis Corcoran. Peter Chryssos was not present.

"It's such a small percentage for such an essential element of what Bedford is about," said Burdick. "We all came here for open space, and want to stay here for its preservation," he said.