Community Preservation Fun Comes Before Voters on November 3

Pay close attention to Proposition 2 on your November ballot. We, the residents of the Town of Orangetown, will be asked to vote on an important matter in support of the new Community Preservation Fund (CPF), which will allow the Town Board to build up a fund to purchase identified properties, with the goal of protecting Orangetown’s natural beauty, historic character and open spaces.

The fund, first proposed by Michael Lawler while serving as Assemblyman and introduced in 2021 by Supervisor Theresa Kenny, has been supported unanimously by all our elected county and state officials. NYS Senator Bill Weber carried and passed the legislation in the State Senate for three consecutive years. With the support of Assemblyman Aron Wieder and former Assemblyman John McGowan, it finally passed both chambers in 2023, but was vetoed by Governor Hochul. This spring, the Governor finally approved and signed the bill. At the July 14, 2026 Town Board meeting, the Town Board officially adopted the Community Preservation Plan (in a 62-page document) and completed all the necessary environmental reviews needed to launch the program. What’s next? Now it’s time for the voters to decide.

How will the CPF work? Funds will be raised through a small, one-time real estate transfer tax, paid by the purchaser of any property in Orangetown. It is a 0.3% tax on the purchase price with a $100,000 exemption for improved property and a $50,000 exemption for vacant land. The current owner pays nothing. Money in the fund can only be used for identified conservation and preservation projects and cannot be transferred for any other town purpose. It is estimated that the fund could generate approximately $1,000,000 per year.

This legislation will allow the town to purchase land or development rights from willing property owners, not through eminent domain. These resources include farmland, forests, wetlands, rivers, wildlife habitat, scenic landscapes, parks, historic buildings, shoreline areas and other environmentally significant properties.

A volunteer advisory board made up of residents from each hamlet with experience in conservation and land preservation began meeting in February. The Palisades representative is Matt Miller, who serves on the Orangetown Planning Board. The committee will adopt a Community Preservation Plan identifying and researching properties it hopes to protect, then will make recommendations to the Town Board. Properties purchased through CPF cannot be sold or used for another purpose unless approved by the NYS Legislature.

If approved by voters, this legislation will ensure that protected lands will remain preserved for future generations. In Palisades, the most obvious body of land to preserve is the HNA property, but time is not on our side. Even if approved, it will take years to build up the fund. Stay mindful of properties in Palisades that should be considered for protection.

For more information, visit the Town of Orangetown website at https://www.orangetown.com/