Open Space Acquisitions Committee
Members:
Elyse Arnow, Chair
Pamela Corey, Co-Chair
Andrew Lehman
Nirotam Mahes
Jed McCann
Sacha Spitzer
Peter Teitelbaum
Liaisons: Melinda Avellino, Bob Siegel
Town Board Liaison: Dan Paschkes
The Town Board formed the Open Space Acquisitions Committee (OSAC) in 2001, following the approval by Town voters in November 2000 of an open space ballot proposition, which created a special property tax levy with funds earmarked for the purchase of open space. Almost 20 years ago, the committee developed its first set of criteria and a rating system for evaluating properties, emphasizing the protection of water quality, wildlife habitat, community character, and passive recreation. At that time, the Town, Planning and Conservation Boards reviewed and approved the criteria and rating system. A list of priority parcels was created and now, 20 years later, many of those properties have been protected through various efforts. Most recently, in November 2023, Town residents passed a third referendum continuing the special property tax levy through 2033. It is with these funds that OSAC will make recommendations to the Town Board for the purchase of important, now privately-owned lands or protective conservation easements.
With Geographic Information Systems (GIS) applied to establish conservation priority areas, a reconstituted OSAC started its work in 2021 to learn and apply GIS overlay and field data, including the Town’s recently completed Natural Resource Inventory, to establish a new set of criteria for the protection of priority lands. These lands connect habitat, forest canopy, watersheds and wetlands into a mosaic of ecologically critical lands that store and sequester carbon and support healthy, human life, wildlife and flora, as well as provide opportunities for passive recreation.
Committee members learn to apply new tools and through group deliberation, create critical value ratings for land and natural systems in Town and in those that connect ecosystems beyond Town borders. Specific corridors and parcels will be identified for future protection. In 2024, the committee will share with the Town Board, Planning and Conservation Boards, their work to date. This will include a draft set of priority parcels throughout Town, highest resiliency areas of Town, an understanding of critical ecological functions, and a discussion of community engagement processes with conservation partners. New members will be brought up to speed on the digital and mapping tools that are the foundation of the committee’s current work.
