Open space runs into home rule

CARA MATTHEWS
THE JOURNAL NEWS
Original publication: March 22, 2001

CARMEL — Countywide support for holding a $10 million referendum on open space preservation may be eroding, the second time the idea has been floated, only to fade away.

County legislators voted during the summer against putting an open space question on the November ballot. They picked up the issue again in January, with the thought that they might ask voters in the fall if they want to spend up to $10 million to buy land.

After requesting responses from the towns, county legislators are learning that some local officials are protective of their home rule. A few town supervisors have told the county that they want to handle open space preservation on their own, and they would not like to see property taxes increase for open space acquisition.

"We feel that as a town, under home rule, that we feel strongly about keeping open space, and we could do it much more effectively on our own," said Carmel Supervisor Frank DelCampo.

Carmel, the largest of Putnam's six towns, doesn't need a referendum "to know how important it is to protect the open space," he said.

In his State of the County speech last week, County Executive Robert Bondi suggested a different type of program, in which the county would match town expenditures for open space. Bondi said that while more than 30 percent of the county is dedicated open space, there is room for more.

Bondi said he didn't think a referendum was necessary. "I think the county already has the power to borrow money for important public projects and this is one of them," he said yesterday.

Under his proposal, the county would borrow money for open space in a "gradual, affordable manner." Bondi has suggested a board with countywide membership that would provide advice on which undeveloped parcels are worthy of preservation.

It is up to the Legislature's Health, Social, Educational and Environmental Committee to make a recommendation to the full Legislature. Legislative Chairman Robert Pozzi, R-Mahopac, said a referendum proposal might not gain support from a majority of the full, nine-member board.

"I think that the direction that all of us agree on is that open space is of paramount importance to all of us. How we go about it may differ slightly. Most of us agree that to go to a $10 million bond may not be the right thing to do," Pozzi said.

It "may not be necessary" to have a referendum, he said.

Legislator Sam Oliverio, D-Putnam Valley, Health Committee chairman, said his panel would hash out the issue at its April meeting.

Voters in seven Westchester communities agreed last year to spend a total of $17 million to preserve open space. Putnam County officials have said that taxes could increase $50 to $75 a year if the referendum passed.

Several legislators, including Pozzi, have said they are in favor of Bondi's partnership proposal. Legislator Regina Morini, R-Mahopac, said she would not be in favor of selling $10 million in bonds for open space, but she would agree to matching grants for worthy projects.

Oliverio said he doesn't want to interfere with home rule, but he is not ruling out a countywide referendum. If towns say they want to handle open space on their own, they need to hold to their promises, he said.

"I don't want a false commitment from our towns," he said.

Environmentalist Martin Brech, a Mahopac resident who first proposed a referendum last year, said he thought there was a lot of support for it. People in favor of a referendum collected 900 signatures during the summer, Brech said, and the group is planning another petition drive. There are several upcoming open space forums in the county.

Brech and Carmel resident Ann Fanizzi, who is pro-referendum, stressed that the $10 million figure was a maximum, and it might not be necessary to spend that much. Fanizzi said they were sensitive to the home-rule issue, which is why every town would have representation on a countywide committee.

"One of the reasons why we went countywide is we thought that the individual towns may not have the wherewithal to put forward the money that may be needed," Fanizzi said.

Putnam Valley Supervisor Carmelo Santos said his town had not yet taken a position on a countywide referendum. However, Putnam Valley has a substantial amount of open space preserved already — more than 7,000 acres, he said, because of Clarence Fahnestock State Park.

The county has good intentions, but Bondi's program could prove too costly for towns, Santos said. "I don't know if we'd match money with the county. I don't know if we're in that position."

Kent Supervisor Annmarie Baisley said her town believes open space is a home-rule issue.

Southeast Supervisor Lois Zutell said her Town Board members would need more specifics about how the money authorized by the referendum would be spent before they would consider supporting it. Southeast has more than 3,000 acres of open space, she said.

"It seems like it's an open-ended kind of thing right now," she said. " They don't have many details."