Realtors Association President J. Gregory Connors made the presentation to Town Supervisor Philip Barrett and the rest of the members of the Town Board  "It's our hope," Connors said, "that by recognizing the outstanding efforts of communities such as Clifton Park we will create awareness of the benefits of smart growth and encourage more communities to embrace this approach to development."  He said the physical award itself was designed to represent balance in the community.

 

The Association President commended the town for its policy of using many of the growth principles advocated by the organization. Some of those principles include mixed land use, walkable neighborhoods, distinctive and attractive communities with a strong sense of place, and preserving open space, farm land, natural beauty and critical environmental areas.  The Association also looks at how the towns built community and stakeholder collaboration in development decisions.

 

Clifton Park Supervisor Philip Barrett talked about this aspect when accepting the award for the town.   "Our policy has been to view economic development as a tool," Barrett said. "I've said before we try and run Clifton Park like a business. We want to bring value to our investors. We try to return an investment to property owners."  Barrett said the pro-active land use planning techniques and open space preservation initiatives created since he became Supervisor in 2000, will continue to enhance the quality of life in the town.

Since 2001, the town's planning efforts have included developing an open space plan, permanently preserving more than 850 acres, creation of 12 miles of walking trails, implementing a generic environmental impact study covering 14,000 acres in the town's western section, enactment of new zoning and design guidelines for the western section, and hiring an open space coordinator. 

 

This is the second recent planning award for the town.  The Town Board was presented with the statewide Open Space Planning Award from the American Planning Association for implementing the western section's impact study and its subsequent policies, including using money generated by the plan's policies to fund the purchase of open space.  It was accepted on behalf of the town by former Planning Director Jason Kemper and presented to the board.   According to Barrett and Kemper the Planning Association's State Award qualifies the town to compete for for a national planning award.