Background:
DevelopmentOpen space is being developed throughout the four counties at an alarming rate. Efforts must be made to coordinate local and regional planning so as to preserve existing greenfields. Solution:
What you can do:
The League urges the counties and municipalities to:
- Prepare county and local open space plans, based on a systematic inventory of open lands with scenic, recreational, historical, environmental and other natural/cultural resource values.
- Take advantage of state and federal funding for parkland acquisition and the development and preservation of farmland and other types of open space. Appropriations from current reserves or bond authorizations should be made when such funding requires local matching funds. Acquisition should be either in fee title or by conservation easement.
- Pursue local parkland acquisition and preservation, sound development, management and maintenance practices, adequate budgets and staffing. Discourage commercialization of parks in most circumstances.
- Encourage the retention of working farms through establishment of market sites, development of county farm plans, use of state financial aid from the Environmental Protection Fund for purchase-of-development rights (conservation easements) matched with county and local funds, use of conservation zoning, encouragement of current use tax policies, agricultural districts, consolidation of farmland parcels where possible for treatment in local comprehensive plans, and education of farming communities on the availability of easements.