Funding Local Government Acquisition of Open Lands in New York State Part I

As development pressures mount, local governments throughout the State of New York are searching for methods of retaining the open character of their communities. In most of these communities, the search for ways to preserve open lands includes an analysis of the extensive authority local governments have in New York to limit the development of privately-owned land through land use regulations. The topic addressed in this article is the financial authority that local governments themselves have to raise revenues to purchase such lands or their development rights. This article explores the sources of local legal authority to spend public funds to purchase interests in open lands, the types of programs that localities in New York have established using this authority, and the particular methods localities have used to raise such funds. The details of establishing capital reserve funds and purchasing land through the installment sale method are also described. Finally, the article illustrates these methods by discussing the programs established in several communities in New York.