Requires open space conservation projects to be undertaken with willing sellers

BILL NUMBER:S341

Title of bill

An act to amend the state finance law and the environmental conservation law, in relation to requiring open space land conservation projects to be undertaken with willing sellers

Purpose

Requires that open space conservation projects be undertaken with willing sellers.

Summary of provisions

The bill amends Section 92-s of the State Finance Law to provide that moneys from the Environmental Protection Fund shall be available, pursuant to appropriation, for open space land conservation projects undertaken with a willing seller. It amends section 54-0301 of the Environmental Conservation Law to redefine "open space conservation projects" as acquisition projects undertaken with willing sellers. It amends section 54-0303 to limit the use of eminent domain in connection with open space conservation projects to situations where the landowner has consented to its use or where its use is required to quiet title.

Justification

New York State is a national leader in the effort to conserve open space. The State's Open Space Conservation Plan expressly recognizes that in pursuing conservation goals, the State must deal fairly and openly with property owners on a willing seller/willing buyer basis. The Plan expressly limits the use of eminent domain for open space conservation purposes.

These provisions in the State's Open Space Conservation Plan have the unanimous support of the broadly representative membership of the Region 5 citizen's advisory committee. This committee, which contains representatives of local and county governments, landowners, and environmental advocacy organizations within the Adirondack Park, adopted the principles that became the basis of these State policies in a series of resolutions in 1992. Those resolutions helped to reduce the fears of residents and landowners regarding the State's use of compulsory land acquisition. They represented an historic public consensus that helped set the stage for the unprecedented achievements in the area of open space conservation that have ensued.

The record conclusively establishes that the State can achieve the objectives of its Open Space Conservation Plan working with willing sellers on a consensual basis. Title 3 of Article 54 of the Environmental Conservation Law, which authorizes the State's open space conservation program, and Section 92-s of the State Finance Law, which creates the Environmental Protection Fund, the largest source of State funding for that program, should reflect this commitment to consensual land acquisition. Enacting this legislation will further the public interest and promote public support for the State's Open Space Conservation program by requiring that open space conservation projects be undertaken with willing sellers.

Legislative history

2009/10: S.358 Finance; A.587 Environmental Conservation 2007/08: S.1121 Passed Senate 2006: S.7028 Finance

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately.