Let Towns Tax Home Sales

Section 1. Paragraph g of subdivision 2 of section 49-0209 of the environmental conservation law, as added by chapter 596 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows:

g. review any community preservation project plans prepared by towns within the region developed pursuant to section six-s of the general municipal law.

§ 2. The general municipal law is amended by adding a new section 248 to read as follows:

§ 248. Community preservation funds. 1. As used in this section, the following words and terms shall have the following meanings:

(a) "Community preservation" or "preservation of community character" shall mean and include any of the purposes outlined in subdivision five of this section.

(b) "Board" means the advisory board required pursuant to subdivision six of this section.

(c) "Tax" means the real estate transfer tax payable on a real property conveyance pursuant to section fourteen hundred forty-nine-bbbbbb of the tax law, but shall have a different meaning if the context clearly indicates such as the real estate transfer tax imposed pursuant to article thirty-one of the tax law.

(d) "Fund" means the community preservation fund created pursuant to subdivision two of this section.

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD05927-01-9

S. 980 2

(e) "Municipality" means a city or town.

(f) "Municipal legislative body" means the town board of a town; or the board of aldermen, common council, council or commission of a city.

2. (a) The municipal legislative body of any municipality is authorized to establish by local law a community preservation fund pursuant to the provisions of this section. Deposits into the fund may include revenues of the municipality from whatever source and shall include, at a minimum, all revenues from a tax imposed upon the transfer of real property interests in such municipality pursuant to section fourteen hundred forty-nine-bbbbbb of the tax law. The fund shall also be authorized to accept gifts of any such interests in land, of monies, or of negotiable instruments or shares of stock. Interest or dividends accrued by funds deposited into the fund shall be credited to the fund. In no event shall monies deposited in the fund be transferred to any other account or used for any purpose other than community preservation. Monies of a municipality's community preservation fund may be expended jointly with one or more other municipalities for the benefit of the residents of all municipalities contributing to such joint expenditure. Nothing contained in this subdivision shall be construed to prevent the financing, in whole or in part, pursuant to the local finance law, of any acquisition authorized pursuant to this section. Monies from the fund may be utilized to repay any indebtedness or obligations incurred pursuant to the local finance law consistent with effectuating the purposes of this section.

(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede, affect, impair or invalidate any provision of section sixty-four-e or sixtyfour-f of the town law. Nothing in section sixty-four-e or sixty-four-f of the town law shall affect or impair the authority of the towns of Brookhaven, East Hampton, Riverhead, Shelter Island, Southampton and Southold to establish by local law a community preservation fund pursuant to the provisions of this section.

3. The purposes of the fund shall be exclusively:

(a) to implement a plan for the preservation of community character in accordance with this section;

(b) to acquire interests or rights in real property for the preservation of community character within the municipality including villages therein, in accordance with such plan and in cooperation with willing sellers;

(c) to establish a bank pursuant to a transfer of development rights program consistent with the applicable provisions of section two hundred sixty-one-a of the town law and section twenty-f of the general city law; and

(d) to provide for the management and stewardship of such interests and rights consistent with subdivision eight of this section and in accordance with such plan designed to preserve community character; provided that not more than ten percent of the fund shall be utilized for such management and stewardship program.

4. If the implementation of the community preservation project plan adopted by a municipal legislative body as provided in subdivision seven of this section has been completed and funds are no longer needed for the purposes outlined in this subdivision, then any remaining monies in the fund shall be applied to reduce any bonded indebtedness or obligations incurred to effectuate the purposes of this section.

5. Preservation of community character shall involve one or more of the following:

(a) preservation of open space;

S. 980 3

(b) establishment of parks, nature preserves, or recreation areas;

(c) preservation of land which is predominantly viable agricultural land, as defined in subdivision seven of section three hundred one of the agriculture and markets law, or unique and irreplaceable agricultural land, as defined in subdivision six of section three hundred one of the agriculture and markets law;

(d) preservation of lands of exceptional scenic value;

(e) preservation of fresh and saltwater marshes or other wetlands;

(f) preservation of aquifer recharge areas;

(g) preservation of undeveloped beach-lands or shoreline;

(h) establishment of wildlife refuges for the purpose of maintaining native animal species diversity, including the protection of habitat essential to the recovery of rare, threatened or endangered species;

(i) preservation of unique or threatened ecological areas;

(j) preservation of rivers, riparian lands, and rivers in a natural, free-flowing condition;

(k) preservation of forested land;

(l) preservation of public access to lands for public use including stream rights and waterways;

(m) preservation of historic places and properties listed on the New York state register of historic places and/or protected under a municipal historic preservation ordinance or law; and

(n) undertaking any of the purposes of this subdivision in furtherance of the establishment of a greenbelt.

6. The municipal legislative body of any municipality which has established a community preservation fund shall create an advisory board to review and make recommendations to the municipal legislative body on proposed acquisitions of interests in real property using monies from the fund. No member of the municipal legislative body shall serve on the advisory board. The members and the chairperson shall be appointed by the municipal legislative body. Such advisory board shall consist of five or seven residents of the municipality who shall serve without compensation. No member of the local legislative body shall serve on the board. A majority of the members of the board shall have demonstrated experience with land conservation or historic preservation. The municipal legislative body shall make a reasonable effort to appoint at least one active farmer to the board. In any county that has a county agricultural and farmland protection board established pursuant to section three hundred two of the agriculture and markets law, the municipal legislative body shall make a reasonable effort to appoint at least one member of the county agricultural and farmland protection board to the advisory board. The terms of members of the board first appointed shall be so fixed that the term of one member shall expire at the end of the municipal official year in which such members were initially appointed. The terms of the remaining members first appointed shall be so fixed that the term shall expire at the end of each official year thereafter. At the expiration of the term of each member first appointed, his or her successor shall be appointed for a term which shall be equal in years to the number of members of the advisory board.

7. The municipal legislative body of any municipality which has established a community preservation fund shall, by local law, adopt a community preservation project plan. This plan shall list every project which the municipality plans to undertake pursuant to the community preservation fund. It shall include every parcel which is necessary to be acquired in the municipality in order to protect community character. Such plan shall provide for a detailed evaluation of all available land

S. 980 4

use alternatives to protect community character, including but not limited to:

(a) fee simple acquisition;

(b) zoning regulations, including density reductions, cluster development, and site plan and design requirements;

(c) transfer of development rights;

(d) the purchase of development rights; and

(e) scenic and conservation easements.

Such evaluation shall be as specific as practicable as to the parcels selected for inclusion in the plan. The plan shall establish the priorities for preservation. Funds from the community preservation fund may only be expended for projects which have been included in the plan. Such plan shall be updated not less than once every five years. A copy of the plan shall be filed with the commissioners of environmental conservation, agriculture and markets, and the office of parks, recreation and historic preservation, the secretary of state, and with the clerk of the municipality and, where practical, posted on the municipality's website. Such plan shall be completed at least sixty days before the submission of the mandatory referendum required by section fourteen hundred fortynine-bbbbbb of the tax law.

8. Any municipal legislative body which has established a community preservation fund pursuant to this section may study and consider establishing a transfer of development rights program to protect community character as provided for by section two hundred sixty-one-a of the town law or section twenty-f of the general city law. If at any time during the life of the community preservation fund a transfer of development rights program is established, the municipality may utilize monies from the community preservation fund in order to create and fund a central bank of the transfer of development rights program. If at any time during the life of the community preservation fund, a transfer of development rights program is repealed by the municipal legislative body, all monies from the central bank shall be returned to the community preservation fund.

9. No interests or rights in real property shall be acquired pursuant to this section until notice is provided and a public hearing is held as required by section two hundred forty-seven of this article; provided, however, that nothing pursuant to this section shall prevent the municipal legislative body from entering into a conditional purchase agreement before a public hearing is held. Any resolution of a municipal legislative body approving an acquisition of interests or rights in real property pursuant to this section shall find that such acquisition was the best alternative for the protection of community character of all the reasonable alternatives available to the municipality.

10. Rights or interests in real property acquired pursuant to this section shall be administered and managed in a manner which:

(a) allows public use and enjoyment in a manner compatible with the natural, scenic, historic, and open space character of such lands or with the sustainable forestry use of such lands;

(b) preserves the native biological diversity of such lands;

(c) with regard to open spaces, limits improvements to enhancing access for passive use of such lands such as nature trails, board walks, hiking trails, snowshoe and cross-country ski trails, bicycle paths, and peripheral parking areas provided that such improvements do not degrade the ecological value of the land or threaten essential wildlife habitat; and

S. 980 5

(d) preserves cultural property consistent with accepted standards for historic preservation.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this subdivision, there shall be no right to public use and enjoyment of land used in conjunction with a farm operation as defined by subdivision eleven of section three hundred one of the agriculture and markets law. In furthering the purposes of this section, the municipality may enter into agreements with corporations organized under the not-for-profit corporation law that engage in land trust activities to manage lands including less than fee interests acquired pursuant to the provisions of this section, provided that any such agreement shall contain a provision that such corporation shall keep and manage the lands consistent with this section.