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What the CPF Fund Can Do

The Community Preservation Fund will work to:

• Hold down taxes. Each new household adds to the tax burden of existing taxpayers in the Red Hook School District: Residential subdivisions require approximately $2.00 in services for each tax dollar they generate, while operating farms and other open spaces in Red Hook require less than 20¢ in municipal services for each dollar of taxes they pay.
• Protect our drinking water. An important goal of the Fund will be the protection of properties essential to our aquifer. By preserving these lands we can do our best to insure that safe, clean water is available for years to come.
• Protect the town we love. Maintain the green belts that surround our villages and hamlets. These green belts make an essential contribution to the character of our local communities.
• Lessen the demands on our existing infrastructure. Reduced development will ease growth pressures on our roads, schools and other government services.
• Protect our working farms. Participating farmers receive a portion of the market value (the development value) of their land while continuing to farm; instead of being forced to sell or divide their lands to retrieve some of their equity.
• Protect our wildlife. The preservation of large tracts of land maintains the separation between wildlife and humans. This is important for the safety of both populations.
• Enhance property values. Limiting new housing, while ensuring the preservation of our rural character, will help enhance the value of existing homes.
• Save our natural beauty.

What are the Steps to Set up a Community Preservation Fund?

First, the Town Board requests from the New York State Legislature permission to establish such a program. Such permission was granted in June, 2006 and signed into law by Governor Pataki this summer thanks to nearly a thousand Red Hook residents who contacted Albany in 2006! In the next year, the Town plans to write a special Preservation Plan, detailing all parcels necessary to preserve the community character.

The Plan will specify all uses of the funds, which are restricted to the protection of water and other natural resources; the creation of parks and recreation areas; the preservation of ecologically important areas; the preservation of historic places; and the protection of land from development, including the purchase of development rights from willing farmland owners.

Soon, the residents of Red Hook will have an opportunity to vote in a town-wide referendum to establish a Community Preservation Fund. All monies placed in the Fund can only be used to further the projects identified in the Community Preservation Plan.