Albany Times Union, Sunday, July 18, 2004. 

Moratorium satisfies public and politics. 

By David J. Miller, 

Audubon New York Executive Director, 

Clifton Park Open Space Committee Co-Chairman. 

    The July 5^th article “Towns struggle to slow growth” did a disservice to Clifton Park and its citizenry by not fully detailing the community involvement and three-year planning process that resulted in a long-term open space program.

    Clifton Park recognized, when it started its open space program in 2001, that public involvement, understanding, support and documentation had to come first.  The town was more than years into the process when it placed a building moratorium in part of it’s jurisdiction.

    Other Towns have started their processes with town-wide building moratoriums, or by asking residents to approve open space bonding authority, without the prerequisite involvement and understanding.  The latter explains the failure of Malta’s bonding referendum in 2000.

    Clifton Park has committed funds incrementally in concert with support generated from the open space planning process.  It already has purchased 250 acres of land and has committed $500,000 for future acquisitions.  It is seeking county, state, and federal grants to match this effort.  The town has benchmarked its open space program against successful efforts throughout the state and nation.  It also sought assistance from the National Audubon Society, the American Farmland Trust, and Behan Planning Associates.

    In Clifton Park, the vision came first and the moratorium later.  In fact, the moratorium in the western area is only one tool in the town’s planning toolbox. 

   Over a three-year period, Clifton Park conducted the most extensive public involvement program and open space planning process undertaken in the Capital Region.  There were more than 25 public meetings and workshops, in addition to public hearing and comment sessions before the Town Board.  Videos, presentations, and surveys saturated the town long before any recommendations were made or actions taken.

    After adopting the open space plan in June 2003, and recognizing that some of the most threatened open spaces are in the western part of town, the Town Board adopted a 12 to 18 month moratorium for that area.  The purpose is to analyze the true build-out capacity of that section of town under existing law and to consider laws, regulations, easements, and land acquisition needed to meet the challenge of sustainable development, while keeping the area’s rural character.  It retained Clough, Harbour & Associates for the project.

    Development continues in the eastern part of town, while new open space purchases and easements are pursued.   Cluster developments are promoted as tools to provide not only housing, but also to add parks, trails, and open space to enhance the quality of living in those developments. 

    In the July 5^th Times Union article, Sheila Powers, President of the Albany County Farm Bureau, raised the concern that a moratorium process that moves too rapidly excludes too many people and view points.

    Clifton Park’s Open Space Plan Committee has representation from all interests in town.  All of the major farms in the town have been actively involved in the discussion, were represented on the Open Space Plan Committee, and are on the Open Space Implementation Committee.  A June 24 meeting organized by several of the town’s largest farm owners and the Open Space Committee presented programs designed to help farmers continue their agricultural enterprises and protect the rural character of the town.

    Sometime next winter, the moratorium will end and we will be all the wiser for it.  Since proposals approved before August 2003 were not halted and none were pending as of that date, no major development proposals will have been significantly delayed.

    Future development proposals in the western part of town will be impacted, and for the better.  There will be more comprehensive planning and linkage to existing infrastructure such as roads and sewer.  Clustering, transfer of development rights and other options for farmers will allow them to keep their commitment to farming.  This is a win for the farmers, the local economy, the taxpayers, and the quality of life in Clifton Park for generations.

    Finally, there was the implication in the article that moratoriums and open space are just political.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  In Clifton Park, I have witnessed an incredible democratic and inclusive process for which Town Supervisor Phil Barrett and the Town Board deserve a huge amount of credit. 

    The entire community was involved and has developed a consensus with a minimal amount of dissension.  It has been about a community coming to grips with a vision, with a long view and not a short fix.  If that’s political, God bless politics.

    Let’s learn from the Clifton Park example, and do it the right way across the Capital Region.