STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ S. 6847 A. 7647 2021-2022 Regular Sessions SENATE - ASSEMBLY May 19, 2021 ___________ IN SENATE -- Introduced by Sen. PALUMBO -- read twice and ordered print- ed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Govern- ment IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. THIELE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Local Governments AN ACT to amend the town law, in relation to the Peconic Bay region community preservation fund; and providing for the repeal of certain provisions upon expiration thereof The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivisions 5, 9 and 10 of section 64-e of the town law, 2 as amended by chapter 551 of the laws of 2015, are amended to read as 3 follows: 4 5. The town board of any town in the Peconic Bay region which has 5 established a community preservation fund shall create an advisory board 6 to review and make recommendations on proposed acquisitions of interests 7 in real property or water quality improvement projects using monies from 8 the fund. Such board shall consist of five or seven legal residents of 9 the municipality who shall serve without compensation. No member of the 10 local legislative body shall serve on the board. A majority of the 11 members of the board shall have demonstrated experience with conserva- 12 tion and land preservation activities or water quality improvement 13 activities, or historic preservation activities. The board shall act in 14 an advisory capacity to the town board. At least one member of the board 15 shall be an active farmer. 16 9. Lands acquired pursuant to this section shall be administered and 17 managed in a manner which (a) allows public use and enjoyment in a 18 manner compatible with the natural, scenic, historic and open space 19 character of such lands; (b) preserves the native biological diversity 20 of such lands; (c) with regard to open spaces, limits improvements to 21 enhancing access for passive use of such lands such as nature trails, 22 boardwalks, bicycle paths, and peripheral parking areas provided that 23 such improvements do not degrade the ecological value of the land or EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD11291-01-1S. 6847 2 A. 7647 1 threaten essential wildlife habitat; and (d) preserves historic and 2 cultural property consistent with accepted standards for historic pres- 3 ervation and permits adaptive reuse of such properties that is consist- 4 ent with the historic character of the property, while maximizing public 5 use to the maximum extent practicable. In furthering the purposes of 6 this section, the town may enter into agreements with corporations 7 organized under the not-for-profit corporation law and engage in land 8 trust activities to manage lands including less than fee interests 9 acquired pursuant to the provisions of this section, provided that any 10 such agreement shall contain a provision that such corporation shall 11 keep the lands accessible to the public unless such corporation shall 12 demonstrate to the satisfaction of the town that public accessibility 13 would be detrimental to the lands or any natural resources associated 14 therewith. 15 10. Rights or interests in real property acquired with monies from 16 such fund shall not be sold, leased, exchanged, donated, or otherwise 17 disposed of or used for other than the purposes permitted by this 18 section without the express authority of an act of the legislature, 19 which shall provide for the substitution of other lands of equal envi- 20 ronmental value and fair market value and reasonably equivalent useful- 21 ness and location to those to be discontinued, sold or disposed of, and 22 such other requirements as shall be approved by the legislature. Noth- 23 ing in this section shall preclude a town, by local law, from establish- 24 ing additional restrictions to the alienation of lands acquired pursuant 25 to this section. This subdivision shall not apply to the sale of devel- 26 opment rights by a town acquired pursuant to this section, where said 27 sale is made by a central bank created by a town, pursuant to a transfer 28 of development rights program established by a town pursuant to section 29 two hundred sixty-one-a of this chapter, provided, however (a) that the 30 lands from which said development rights were acquired shall remain 31 preserved in perpetuity by a permanent conservation easement or other 32 instrument that similarly preserves the community character referenced 33 in subdivision four of this section, and (b) the proceeds from such sale 34 shall be deposited in the community preservation fund. Nothing in this 35 section shall preclude a town from utilizing development rights acquired 36 with monies from the fund from being utilized to provide community hous- 37 ing, provided that such development rights have not been expressly 38 extinguished at the time of acquisition. The lands from which said 39 development rights were acquired shall remain preserved in perpetuity by 40 a permanent conservation easement or other instrument that similarly 41 preserves the community character referenced in subdivision four of 42 this section. Where such development rights are sold, the proceeds from 43 such sale shall be deposited in the community preservation fund. For 44 purposes of this subdivision, "community housing" shall mean a primary 45 residential property where the purchase price limit shall not exceed one 46 hundred fifty percent of the purchase price limits established by the 47 state of New York mortgage agency low interest rate loan program in 48 non-target categories for the county. 49 § 2. Severability clause. If any provision of this act or application 50 thereof shall for any reason be adjudged by any court of competent 51 jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or 52 invalidate the remainder of the act, but shall be confined in its opera- 53 tion to the provision thereof directly involved in the controversy in 54 which the judgment shall have been rendered. 55 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.