§ 64-F — Town of Brookhaven community preservation fund

§ 64-f. Town of Brookhaven community preservation fund. 1. As used in\nthis section, the following words and terms shall have the following\nmeanings:\n (a) "Town" means the town of Brookhaven in the county of Suffolk.\n (b) "Community preservation" shall mean and include any of the\npurposes outlined in subdivision four of this section.\n (c) "Board" means the advisory board required pursuant to subdivision\nfive of this section.\n (d) "Fund" means the community preservation fund created pursuant to\nsubdivision two of this section.\n 2. The town board of the town is authorized to establish by local law\na community preservation fund pursuant to the provisions of this\nsection. Deposits into the fund may include revenues of the town from\nwhatever source and shall include, at a minimum, all revenues from a tax\nimposed upon the transfer of real property interests in such town\npursuant to article thirty-one-B of the tax law. The fund shall also be\nauthorized to accept gifts of any such interests in land or of funds.\nInterest accrued by monies deposited into the fund shall be credited to\nthe fund. In no event shall monies deposited in the fund be transferred\nto any other account. Nothing contained in this section shall be\nconstrued to prevent the financing in whole or in part, pursuant to the\nlocal finance law, of any acquisition authorized pursuant to this\nsection. Monies from the fund may be utilized to repay any indebtedness\nor obligations incurred pursuant to the local finance law consistent\nwith effectuating the purposes of this section. The town shall only\nadopt the local law authorized by this subdivision if it has incurred or\nauthorized bonded indebtedness since nineteen hundred eighty for open\nspace purposes equal to or greater than two hundred dollars per town\nresident, and shall also include in such calculation of its incurred or\nauthorized bonded indebtedness, the incurred or authorized bonded\nindebtedness dedicated for open space purposes of the county of Suffolk\nwithin the town. The number of residents shall be determined by the 1990\nU.S. Census. Said local law shall make a finding that the town has\ncomplied with the per resident financial commitment requirement of this\nsubdivision.\n 3. The purposes of the fund shall be exclusively, (a) to implement a\nplan for the preservation of community character as required by this\nsection, (b) to acquire interests or rights in real property for the\npreservation of community character within the town including villages\ntherein in accordance with such plan and in cooperation with willing\nsellers, (c) to establish a bank pursuant to a transfer of development\nrights program consistent with section two hundred sixty-one-a of this\nchapter, (d) to provide a management and stewardship program for such\ninterests and rights consistent with subdivision nine of this section\nand in accordance with such plan designed to preserve community\ncharacter; provided that not more than ten percent of the fund shall be\nutilized for the management and stewardship program, and (e) to make\npayments to school, fire, fire protection and ambulance districts in\nconnection with lands owned by the state or any municipal corporation\nwithin the central pine barrens area as defined in subdivision ten of\nsection 57-0107 of the environmental conservation law. Such payments may\nonly be made to districts where more than twenty-five percent of the\nassessed value of such district is wholly exempt from real property\ntaxation pursuant to the real property tax law because it is owned by\nthe state or a municipal corporation. Not more than ten percent of the\nfund may be used for said purpose in any calendar year. Such payments\nfrom the fund shall not exceed the actual tax liability that would have\nbeen due if such lands of the state or of a municipal corporation had\nbeen subject to real property taxation. Where more than one district is\neligible for such a payment under this subdivision, and such payment is\nless than the actual tax liability that would have been due if such\nlands of the state or a municipal corporation had been subject to real\nproperty taxation, the town shall apportion such annual payment on the\nbasis of the total tax levied by each district within the town for the\nyear such payment is made. Such payment made by the town shall be used\nsolely to reduce the property tax liability of the remaining taxpayers\nof the district within said town. If the implementation of the community\npreservation project plan, adopted by the town board, as provided in\nsubdivision six of this section, has been completed, and funds are no\nlonger needed for the purposes outlined in this subdivision, then any\nremaining monies in the fund shall be applied to reduce any bonded\nindebtedness or obligations incurred to effectuate the purposes of this\nsection.\n 4. Preservation of community character shall involve one or more of\nthe following: (a) establishment of parks, nature preserves or\nrecreation areas; (b) preservation of open space, including agricultural\nlands; (c) preservation of lands of exceptional scenic value; (d)\npreservation of fresh and saltwater marshes or other wetlands; (e)\npreservation of aquifer recharge areas; (f) preservation of undeveloped\nbeachlands or shoreline; (g) establishment of wildlife refuges for the\npurpose of maintaining native animal species diversity, including the\nprotection of habitat essential to the recovery of rare, threatened or\nendangered species; (h) preservation of pine barrens consisting of such\nbiota as pitch pine, and scrub oak; (i) preservation of unique or\nthreatened ecological areas; (j) preservation of rivers and river areas\nin a natural, free-flowing condition; (k) preservation of forested land;\n(l) preservation of public access to lands for public use including\nstream rights and waterways; (m) preservation of historic places and\nproperties listed on the New York state register of historic places\nand/or protected under a municipal historic preservation ordinance or\nlaw; and (n) undertaking any of the aforementioned in furtherance of the\nestablishment of a greenbelt.\n 5. The town board of the town upon establishment of a community\npreservation fund shall create an advisory board to review and make\nrecommendations on proposed acquisitions of interests in real property\nusing monies from the fund. Such board shall consist of five or seven\nlegal residents of the town who shall serve without compensation. No\nmember of the town board shall serve on the board. A majority of the\nmembers of the board shall have demonstrated experience with\nconservation or land preservation activities. The board shall act in an\nadvisory capacity to the town board. At least one member of the board\nshall be an active farmer.\n 6. The town board of the town upon establishment of a community\npreservation fund shall, by local law, adopt a community preservation\nproject plan. This plan shall list every project which the town plans to\nundertake pursuant to the community preservation fund. It shall include\nevery parcel which is necessary to be acquired in the town in order to\nprotect community character. Such plan shall provide for a detailed\nevaluation of all available land use alternatives to protect community\ncharacter, including but not limited to: (a) fee simple acquisition, (b)\nzoning regulations, including density reductions, cluster development,\nand site plan and design requirements, (c) transfer of development\nrights, (d) the purchase of development rights, and (e) scenic and\nconservation easements. Said evaluation shall be as specific as\npracticable as to each parcel selected for inclusion in the plan. The\nplan shall establish the priorities for preservation, and shall include\nthe preservation of farmland as its highest priority. Funds from the\ncommunity preservation fund shall only be expended for projects which\nhave been included in said plan. Said plan shall be updated not less\nthan once every five years. A copy of the plan shall be filed with the\ncommissioner of environmental conservation, the commissioner of\nagriculture and markets and the commissioner of parks, recreation and\nhistoric preservation. Said plan shall be completed at least sixty days\nbefore the submission of the mandatory referendum required by section\none thousand four hundred forty-one of the tax law.\n 7. The town board of the town upon establishment of a community\npreservation fund pursuant to this section shall study and consider\nestablishing a transfer of development rights program to protect\ncommunity character as provided for by section two hundred sixty-one-a\nof this chapter. All provisions of such section two hundred sixty-one-a\nshall be complied with. If at any time during the life of the community\npreservation fund a transfer of development rights program is\nestablished, the town may utilize monies from the community preservation\nfund in order to create and fund a central bank of the transfer of\ndevelopment rights program. If at any time during the life of the\ncommunity preservation fund, a transfer of development rights program is\nrepealed by the town, all monies from the central bank shall be returned\nto the community preservation fund.\n 8. No interests or rights in real property shall be acquired pursuant\nto this section until a public hearing is held as required by section\ntwo hundred forty-seven of the general municipal law; provided, however,\nthat nothing in this subdivision shall prevent the town board from\nentering into a conditional purchase agreement before a public hearing\nis held. Any resolution of the town board approving an acquisition of\nland pursuant to this section, shall find that acquisition was the best\nalternative for the protection of community character of all the\nreasonable alternatives available to the town.\n 9. Lands acquired pursuant to this section shall be administered and\nmanaged in a manner which (a) allows public use and enjoyment in a\nmanner compatible with the natural, scenic, historic and open space\ncharacter of such lands; (b) preserves the native biological diversity\nof such lands; (c) with regard to open spaces, limits improvements to\nenhancing access for passive use of such lands such as nature trails,\nboardwalks, bicycle paths, and peripheral parking areas provided that\nsuch improvements do not degrade the ecological value of the land or\nthreaten essential wildlife habitat; and (d) preserves cultural property\nconsistent with accepted standards for historic preservation. In\nfurthering the purposes of this section, the town may enter into\nagreements with corporations organized under the not-for-profit\ncorporation law and engage in land trust activities to manage lands\nincluding less than fee interests acquired pursuant to the provisions of\nthis section, provided that any such agreement shall contain a provision\nthat such corporation shall keep the lands accessible to the public\nunless such corporation shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the\ntown that public accessibility would be detrimental to the lands or any\nnatural resources associated therewith.\n 10. Rights or interests in real property acquired with monies from\nsuch fund shall not be sold, leased, exchanged, donated, or otherwise\ndisposed of or used for other than the purposes permitted by this\nsection without the express authority of an act of the legislature,\nwhich shall provide for the substitution of other lands of equal\nenvironmental value and fair market value and reasonably equivalent\nusefulness and location to those to be discontinued, sold or disposed\nof, and such other requirements as shall be approved by the legislature.\nNothing in this section shall preclude the town, by local law, from\nestablishing additional restrictions to the alienation of lands acquired\npursuant to this section. This subdivision shall not apply to the sale\nof development rights by the town acquired pursuant to this section,\nwhere said sale is made by a central bank created by the town, pursuant\nto a transfer of development rights program established by the town\npursuant to section two hundred sixty-one-a of this chapter, provided,\nhowever (a) that the lands from which said development rights were\nacquired shall remain preserved in perpetuity by a permanent\nconservation easement or other instrument that similarly preserves the\ncommunity character referenced in subdivision four of this section, and\n(b) the proceeds from such sale shall be deposited in the community\npreservation fund.\n