Citizens Campaign for the Environment
Empowering Communities, Advocating Solutions.
- Water Protection
- Aquatic Invasive Species
- Broadwater: Liguefied Natural Gas Facility
- Carmans River
- Clean Water, Green Jobs
- Great Lakes
- Hudson River Desalination
- Long Island Sound Dredged Materials
- Long Island Sound Protection
- Millstone Nuclear Power Station
- MTBE Pollution in Drinking Water
- Ocean Protection
- Onondaga Lake
- Owasco Lake
- Power Plants Kill Fish
- Sewage Pollution
- Wetlands Protection
- SPECIAL FEATURE: Great Lakes Conference
- SPECIAL FEATURE: Long Island Groundwater
- SPECIAL FEATURE: Long Island South Shore Estuary Reserve
- SPECIAL FEATURE: New York State Sewer Scorecard Report
- SPECIAL FEATURE: Onondaga Lake Remediation Document Repository
- Public Health, Toxics, and Recycling
- Acid Rain
- Artificial Turf
- Bottle Bill
- Brookhaven National Laboratory
- Hazardous Waste Landfill
- Human Pesticide Testing
- Lawn Pesticides: An Unacceptable Risk
- Manufactured Gas Plants on Long Island
- Mercury Pollution
- Pesticide Free Schools
- Pesticide Neighbor Notification
- Pesticides: Mosquito Control / West Nile Virus
- Plastic Bag Reduction
- West Valley Nuclear Waste Site
- SPECIAL FEATURE: Current Local Air Quality
- SPECIAL FEATURE: Long Island Recycling
- Open Space and Working Landscapes
- Climate Change and Energy Policy
- Climate Change
- Energy Transmission
- Fix LIPA
- Natural Gas Hydro-Fracking in Shale
- New York State Energy Plan
- Renewable Energy
- Wind Energy
- SPECIAL FEATURE: Climate Change Resource Center
- SPECIAL FEATURE: Energy Conservation
- SPECIAL FEATURE: Green Levittown
- SPECIAL FEATURE: Green Street LI
- SPECIAL FEATURE: Hydro-Fracking Resource and Action Center
- SPECIAL FEATURE: WindWorks for Long Island
- Legislative Campaigns
CAMPAIGNS
Community Preservation Funds
Hudson River Valley
Photo: Mark Helms/Milewalker Studio
A Community Preservation Fund (CPF) is a dedicated perpetual environmental fund that can be used to preserve open space, protect drinking water and surface water quality, and to create community parks. A CPF allows towns to apply for matching funds from the state, county, and federal governments to purchase areas of significant value to the town. It also requires an advisory committee to oversee the purchases. There have been 5 laws enacted by the New York State Legislature, allowing only 6% of New Yorkers to have a CPF. Citizens need to demand that their community should have the right to create a Community Preservation Fund!
BENEFITS OF A CPF:
- Drinking Water Protection: A CPF enables towns to purchase land that is needed to protect drinking water. Whether your drinking water comes from an underground aquifer or from a reservoir, your town could preserve land that recharges the quantity and quality of your water.
- Open Space Preservation: A CPF provides necessary funding that allows the town to forever protect undeveloped parcels of land. This includes FARMLAND PROTECTION. It also includes areas that have an exceptional scenic value, forested areas, or undeveloped beachlands or shorelines, areas that your town wants to protect.
- Protect Surface Water Quality: One of the biggest threats to our surface waters and estuaries is stormwater run-off. This is rainwater that runs off paved surfaces and collects pesticides, motor oil, pet wastes, and garbage debris along its path. By preserving key ecological lands, stormwater can be reduced and filtered before contaminating our lakes, rivers, streams, and estuaries.
- Wetlands Conservation: A CPF can be used to protect freshwater and saltwater wetlands. Wetlands are crucial for floodwater protection! Billions of dollars in property damage are saved annually by wetlands buffering storm water and absorbing floodwaters!
- Safeguard Wildlife Habitat: A CPF enables towns to establish wildlife refuges. These lands provide protection to native species and endangered species of plants and animals and allow for continuation of biodiversity!
HOW DOES A CPF WORK?
A CPF facilitates a completely voluntary program whereby landowners can sell their land or development rights from their land to the town at fair market value. It is funded by a one-time real estate transfer fee up to 2% that will only affect the buyers of houses over the median housing cost for each town. For example, if a new resident buys a house for $275,000 in a town with the median housing value of $250,000, then the new homeowner would pay $500 to their new town's CPF. This fee does not affect those who already reside in the town. You have already been paying taxes for years!
Early
Community Preservation Fund Success!
Some towns in New York have already created a successful
Community Preservation Fund. For instance, the Town
of Southampton created a CPF in April of 1999. Since
its inception it has generated over $78 million and
has protected 1,500 acres of land throughout the town.
The original CPF had a sunset date for December 2010,
but residents overwhelmingly voted on a proposal to
extend the CPF another 10 years!
How you can help!
Contact your public officials.
Letter writing tips:
- Print your name and address under your signature.
- Make sure your letter is clearly legible and in your own words.
- Ask your elected officials to respond in writing, informing you how they will address your concerns.
1. Write to your state senators and assembly members. Tell them that your community has a right to consider creating a Community Preservation Fund to preserve open space, protect drinking water and surface water quality, and to create community parks.
Suggestions:
- Focus your letter on your community’s right to consider creating a Community Preservation Fund.
- Tell your New York State Senate and Assembly member to pass the Community Preservation Act.
Use the following links to look up the names of your legislators:
New York State Senate (click "Senators" button on main page)
New York State Assembly
2. Call or write to the members of your Town Board or Council, including the Town Supervisor. Tell your local officials that preserving open space and community character is important to you. Educate them about the benefits of establishing a community preservation fund! Ask your officials to put this issue on the agenda and bring it to a vote!
Suggestions:
- Focus your message on protecting open space without raising property taxes.
- Tell
your Supervisor and Board/Council members to pass
a resolution requesting authorization for a Community
Preservation Fund.
Please send a copy of any response you receive to CCE’s Farmingdale office - it helps us track progress on the issue. Thanks!
For more information, please contact CCE’s Farmingdale office at (516) 390-7150.
Updated by epepper 6/8/09