33protectingnatural.pdf

River

Valley

Seth

McKee

From

itssourceat

Lake

Tear

ofthe

Clouds

inthe

Adi-rondack

Mountains

of

upper

New

York

State, the

Hudson

Riverflowsover

300

miles toits

mouth

in

New

York

Harbor,

where

itemptiesintotheAtlanticOcean.

Along

theway, it flows past a wealth ofdiverse

land-scapes: rollingfarmland, rustic, industrial rivertowns,

mountain

ranges ofstrikinggeology, ecologically-sig-nificant tidalwetlands,

and

finally

New

York

City.

For

overhalfthelengthofthisjourney, the

Hudson

istidal,

and

asa

major

estuary,therivercontainsmarine,

brack-ish,

and

freshwaterhabitats.Thisdiversityoflandscapes

and

natural habitatshasintrigued residents

and

visitors forcenturies,

and

has

been

thescene ofhistoricevents, extensive

commerce,

spectacularartistry,

and

everyday

inspiration.Ithasalso

posed

achallengetoplanners

and

conservationists throughout the

Hudson

Valley-how

tosafeguarditsnatural attributesinthe faceof consid-erablelong-term

development

pressures,while

accom-modatinginevitablegrowthand developmentina

manner

thatiscompatible withthis natural heritage.

This challenge is faced by

many

regions across the

nation

and

theworld,butisintensifiedbycertain

attrib-utes specific to the

Hudson

Valley.

The

New

York

metropolitan area haslittle

room

to

grow

indirections

other than the

Hudson

Valley,

due

to near build-out conditions in othersuburbs of the region. Indeed, the

Hudson

Valley

may

representthe

New

York

metropoli-tanarea'slastfrontierinterms ofdevelopment. Despite

these pressures, current

economic

hard timeshave not spared the

Hudson

Valley.

The

industrial base ofthe areaisshrinking,with

General

Motors

closingitsplant

in

North

Tarrytown,

and major

regionalemployers such

as

IBM

announcing

plansforrestructuring

and

'Volun-tary attrition."

Seth

McKee

is

Land

Projects

Manager

forScenic

Hudson,

Inc. in Poughkeepsie,

NY.

He

receiveda masters in

Re-gionalPlanning

from

UNC-Chapel

Hillin1991.

The

industrial legacyofthe riverhasbrought about otherproblems.First,theriver

was

traditionallythesite

of water-dependentindustry,

which

used the

Hudson

as

an inexpensive,reliable source oftransportation.

The

result has

been

a legacy ofindustrial location

on

the

river.Thispatternofindustrial

development

continues

inthe present, despite the lackoftrulywater-dependent

industries. This has degraded

many

of the

Hudson's

natural attributes

and

haslimitedpublic access to the

riverfront.

Second, historic industrial activity along the river

hauntsitscurrentresidents.Inthe1940s,50s

and

60s the

General

ElectricCorporation buriedtoxic

PCBs

inthe

river'ssediments.Currenthealthstandards

recommend

against

consumption

of

most

fishspeciescaughtinthe

Hudson,

due

tothe presence of

PCBs

which

are linked

to cancer

and

neurological problems. This has

had

a disastrousimpact

on

the region's fishing industry,

which

now

must

limit its catch to species that reside in the

Hudson

forshortperiodsoftime.

Finally, over35 percent of the

Hudson's

riverfront

towns and

villageslackanypublic

means

ofaccessing the

river,suchas parks,boat launches

and

trails.

For

many

residentsof the

Hudson

RiverValley, theriverissimply

something

tobe crossed

on

the

way

to

somewhere

else,

despitethestrongregionalidentitythatitfosters.

Those

communities

without riveraccess also losetourist

dol-lars to

towns

and

villages that offeropportunities for

recreationalongtheriver.

The Response

Many

local

governments

have

been

tryingtoaddress

these problems, through parklandacquisition, zoning

and

subdivision regulations, agricultural districts,

and

environmental impact reporting requirements.

As

is

trueeverywhere,

some

local

governments

are

more

dili-gent,capable,

and

have

more

resources

and

political will

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o/tfieLower HudsonRiver Valley

strivetoincrease public access

and

limit

development

in

sensitive riverfrontareas.Often,however,local

govern-ments

are short-staffed

and

lackthefinancialresources

to fully

cope

withtheproblem.

Given

thedecrease in

federal

and

stateaidtolocal

governments

overthe past

decade, increasingthelocaltaxbaseis

an

understand-able priority. This drives local

governments

to look

more

kindly

on

privatewaterfront

development

propos-als

and

to

sometimes

overlooknegativeenvironmental

and

fiscaleffectsthey

may

bring.

Local not-for-profit groups have

been

quickto

re-spond

tothe lackoflocal

government

resources.

There

are

many

such groups in the

Hudson

Valley: Scenic

Hudson;

Hudson

River

Sloop

Clearwater,

which

moni-tors riverfront

development

and

provideshands-onriver

environmental educationfor citizens;the

Open

Space

Institute,

which

acquireslandinfee

and

viaeasements

for trails

and

public parkland in the valley

and

else-where;

and

many

localland trusts

and

citizensgroups with

an

interest intheprotection of land orriver

front-age.Inaddition, severalnational not-for-profit organi-zationsmaintain

an

activeinterest inthe

Hudson

Val-ley, such as

The

Nature

Conservancy,

which

protects

significant habitat

and

plant

and

animal species,

and

The

Trust for Public Land,

which

purchases land for

public parks.

Scenic

Hudson:

Its

History

and

Mandate

Scenic

Hudson

was born

out of

one

ofthe defining controversies of theenvironmental

movement

in the

United

States-the battle to preserve

Storm

King, a massive, regal-lookingbare

mountain

atthenorthern reaches ofthe

Hudson

Highlands near

Newburgh,

New

York. In 1963, the

New

York

City utility

company

Consolidated

Edison

proposed

the construction ofa

pumped

storage facility

on

the slopesof

Storm

King.

This

alarmed

many

people

who

were concerned

about

the impact such a

development

would

have

on

the

mountain,

and

on

theprecedentit

would

set for

develop-ment

inothersensitive,historicor otherwisevaluable

areas.

Storm King

symbolizedthe regionalidentity

cre-ated bythe

Hudson-majestic,

historic,yielding to

no

human.

Sustainedopposition overa

decade

bya

coali-tionofenvironmentalists, historians

and

recreation

en-thusiasts halted

Con

Edison's plans

and

convinced a

generation of

New

Yorkers

thatcitizenactivismcould accomplishthe goalsof environmentalconservation.

One

ofthe leadersinthefight

was

theScenic

Hudson

PreservationConference, a

group

formed

inresponseto

the threat to

Storm

King.

The

group

soon became

known

asScenic

Hudson

and

attracted thesupportof

many

residentsof boththe

Hudson

Valley

and

the

New

York

metropolitanarea.

Over

time,the

group

focused

its efforts

on

monitoring

development

trends in the

Hudson

Valley

and

acquisitionofsignificantparcels of

riverfrontlandfor

conveyance

to

government

agencies.

Today, Scenic

Hudson

hasa full-timestaffof17,and

works

inthree

major program

areas: landpreservation,

waterfrontdevelopment,

and

environmental

landowners,localgovernments,citizensgroups

and

the State of

New

York

to protect land with outstanding

scenic,natural resource,historicorrecreational value.

Waterfront

development

specialists providetechnical

assistance

and

advice tolocalgovernmentsinthe

Hudson

Valley,

and

advocate public access to the river

and

environmentallysensitivedevelopment.Environmental

specialists

monitor

waterquality,wateruse,

and

indus-trialimpacts

on

theriver,

promote

watershedprotection

and

water conservation,

and

lobby for policies at all

levelsof

government

thatwillresult inaclean

Hudson

River.Thisarticlefocuses

on

theapproaches

and

tech-niques used by Scenic

Hudson

in the areas of land preservation

and

waterfrontdevelopment.

The

Hudson

Valley:

The

Next

Frontier

It isuseful tolookatthe

work

of Scenic

Hudson

inthe context of

development

trends in the

New

York

City

metropolitan area, in the

Hudson

Valley,

and

in the

stateof

New

York

asawhole.

The Hudson

Valleyisthe

leastdeveloped subregion inthe

New

York

City

MSA.

Suburbs

tothe east

(Long

Island)

and

west

(New

Jersey) of thecityare nearlybuilt-out, asare theportionsofthe

Hudson

Valley closest to the city, such as southern

Westchester County.

There

isliterally

nowhere

else for

New

York

City-generated

urban

sprawltogo,otherthan

further intothe

Hudson

Valley.

The

rateof

growth

inthe

Hudson

Valley has slowed

sincetheonset of thecurrent recession,

which

hashitthe northeastern U.S.particularlyhard.IBM'stroublescause

many

in the

Hudson

Valley to feelinsecure aboutthe

region's

economic

future. Despitethe

economic

down-turn,

development

pressures remain. "Developers are

continuingto

work

theirprojectsthroughtheapproval

mill,so that they'llbe ready togo

when

the

economy

turnsaround,"saysScenic

Hudson's

Associate Director Carol

Sondheimer.

They

continue to

show

a strong

interest inriverfrontpropertyfor residential,

commer-cial

and

industrialuses. "Itisa

mark

of theallureofthe

river that developers continue to maintain a healthy

interest in sitingprojects there," says

Sondheimer.

Another

factor

which

willundoubtedlyinfluence the regional

economy

ofthe

Hudson

Valleyisthe

imminent

expansion of Stewart Airport, a heretofore small,

re-gionalfacilityin

Newburgh.

Tentative plans areforan

increaseinpassengerservicebyseveral

hundred

percent

and

thecreation of seven million square feetofcargo

facilitiesbythe year 2000.Thisexpansionwill

consume

approximately 8,000acresof

undeveloped

bufferlands.

Whether

the netimpact ofthisexpansion

on

thelocal

economy

willbeeither positiveornegativeisthesubject

ofcurrent debate.

Many

peoplebelievethisexpansion

will result inthe

de

factocreationofafourth

metropoli-tan airport for

New

York

City.

Combined

with a

pro-posed high-speed rail system linking

New

York

City

with Albany, the expansion of Stewart Airport will

undoubtedlyacceleratethedecentralizationof the

New

York

metropolitan areaintothe

Hudson

Valley.

Long-term development

alongthe

Hudson

River has caused losses of tidal wetlands

and

other significant

riverinehabitat,public accessforrecreational

and

aes-theticpurposes,

and

natural characteristics

due

to

in-compatible landuses.Alloftheseareareasofconcern

forScenic

Hudson.

Scenic

Hudson:

Land

Preservation

The

land protectioneffortsof Scenic

Hudson

focus

on

the acquisitionofinterests in landthatrepresents a

valuablepublic resource, either forits natural

value-wetlands,significant tributaries,

and

contiguous forest

stands-scenicbeauty,historicsignificance,orpotential

formeaningfulpublicaccess.Scenic

Hudson

promotes

thewise use of land resourcesin

ways

thatbothprotect the natural

environment

and enhance

the qualityoflife

ofriverfront communities.

A

balance is also sought

between

long-range planning for resource protection

and

responding to opportunities as they arise in the

privatelandmarket.

Scenic

Hudson's

land preservation activities are

conducted

throughitssubsidiarycorporation,

The

Sce-nic

Hudson Land

Trust

(SHLT).

SHLT

generally

"pre-acquires" sensitive land

from

a private

landowner

for

eventual

conveyance

toa publicentity,suchasthestate,

county or local government. Like

most

not-for-profit land trusts,

SHLT

operates

on

thepremise that itcan

bringadegree offlexibility,responsiveness,

and

creativ-ity to land protection that public agencies generally cannot.

Given

limited funds, limited staff resources, stringent project review

and

approval processes,

and

thatever-present

monkey

wrench

calledpolitics,public

agencies are often unable to respond quickly

enough

when

an

opportunity toprotecta parcel ofsignificant

landarises.

Land

trusts like

SHLT

canoftenstrikea deal

before the

landowner

gets frustratedbytheredtape

and

funding obstacles involved in transfers of land into publicownership.

The

affluence that

New

York

City spins offkeepsthe priceofrealestatealongthe

Hudson

Riverhigh,

espe-cially in its southern reaches. Prices for developable

riverfrontlandalongthe

Hudson

inearly 1992 ranged

Population

Growth Trends

in

New

York

State

1980-1990

Region

Growth

Rate

New

York

State

2.5%

Hudson

Valley1

_3.9%

Westchester

County

1.0%

Orange County

18.5%

Source:

A

Hudson

RiverValley

Greenway,

February

36

CAROLINA

PLANNING

NuttenHook.Onegeneration'sdredge spoilisanother's futureriverfrontpark.

from

$5,000to$60,000 peracre,with thehighest values

found

inWestchester

and

othersouthern

Hudson

Val-leycounties, aswell as incities

and towns

inthe

mid-Hudson

area.

These

prices

make

itdifficultfor

not-for-profitlandtrusts,

which

rely

on

thedonations of

mem-bers,supportersand, to

some

degree,corporate

spon-sors to

compete

withprivatedevelopersfor sensitiveor notableland.

The

Scenic

Hudson Land

Trust,however,isa benefi-ciaryofa privately createdfundfortheconservation of

land inthe

Hudson

Rivercorridor.Thisfund

makes

it

possible for

SHLT

(hereafter referred to asScenic

Hudson)

toprotectlandin thishigh-pricedrealestatemarket.

A

recent

development

has

made

itimpossible,at least

forthe

moment,

forlandtrustssuchasScenic

Hudson

to

acquire landfor

conveyance

tothe Stateof

New

York.In

November

1990, the votersof

New

York

Statenarrowly

voted

down

theEnvironmentalQuality

Bond

Act

(EQBA)

of1990,

which proposed

the issuanceof$2 billion in

bonds

by the state for environmental projects,

$800

million of

which was

specifically

earmarked

for state

landacquisition. This

came

asa surprise to

many,

be-causeprior

EQBAs

in1972

and

1986

had

enjoyed wide-spread public support. It

would

seem

that with the

recession in full swing, a

narrow

majority of voters,

primarilyinlessurbanizedareas,perceived land conser-vationto

be

aluxuryreservedforbetter

economic

times.

Thus

Scenic

Hudson

and

other land trusts in

New

York

Statecannotat thistimerely

on

state

government

tobetheultimatebuyer of landthat theyfirstacquire.

This hasforced theorganizationtolookatcreativeways

toprotectland without bearingthe

burden

ofday-to-day stewardship.

One

optionistoacquiretheland

and

then

enter intolong-termleasesor

management

agreements withthestateorotherpublicagenciesinthehopes of

eventualpublic acquisition.

The

recent publicationofadraft

Open

Space

Conser-vationPlanby

New

York

State's

Department

of

Envi-ronmental

Conservation

and

OfficeofParks,

Recrea-tion

and

Historic Preservation

may

help create state

fundingfor land preservation.

The

plan identifies the

Hudson

River Valley

and

estuary as a

major

resource

area deserving ofactive protection efforts. It

recom-mends

that funding for

open

space protection

come

from

anexistingsoda

and

beertax,a fee

on

thesaleof

automobile

tires,and/or

unclaimed

beveragedeposits.

Ifsuch fundingissecured,Scenic

Hudson

will

once

more

As

of April 1992,Scenic

Hudson

had

protectedover

1,990 acresofsignificant landalongthe

Hudson

River throughfeeacquisition.

Four hundred

acresofthistotal

was

thepurchase

and

transferof

Storm King

Mountain

tothestate.In addition,Scenic

Hudson

holds

conserva-tion

easements

on

over

800

acresofland,including lands

comprising portions of the views

from

thehistoric

Fran-klin

Delano

Roosevelt

Home

and

Vanderbilt

Mansion

in

Hyde

Park.

Land

Preservation

Techniques

A

varietyof techniquesisavailabletolandtrustsfor

theprotectionofsignificant land.

The

use ofaparticular

approach

isdictatedbythe typeof resourcebeing

pro-tected, bythe needs of the landowner,

and

bythe

re-sources ofthe organization. Scenic

Hudson

relies

on

two

distinctapproaches:feesimpleacquisition(i.e.full

ownership

of land)

and

acquisition of conservation

easements

(i.e.,

ownership

ofthe

development

rightsto

theland).

Fee Simple

Land

AcquisitionIngeneral,Scenic

Hudson

seeks to purchase outright land

which

requires full

ownership

inorder toprotectitsoutstanding resource

value.

For

example,fee acquisition isoften the

chosen

strategy

when

dealingwith tidalwetlands,

due

to the

stateoffluxofnational

and

statewetlands protection laws

and

tothe potentialof wetlandpropertytoprovide opportunitiesforpublic research,education,

and

nature

appreciation. Additionally, large, contiguous tractsof

woodlands

orriverfrontageareoftenprotectedthrough

fee acquisition.

They

are often

most

appropriate for

future

conveyance

toapublicagencyforparkland.

Therecan be

many

incentivesforownersofriverfront landtosell.

The owner

may

bestrugglingwitha heavy propertytaxburden,

due

tohighpropertyvalues.

Lack

ofdeveloperinterest

due

tothe recessioncan

make

the

saleof suchland

more

difficult.Or,the

owner

may

bea

developer having

second

thoughts about theviabilityof

hisorherproject, ashas

been

occurring

more

frequently

in the pastyearbecause oflocal

economic

conditions.

The

owner

may

have

an

emotional attachment to the land thatisnotshared byhisorherchildren,

prompting

aconcernforits long-termpreservationas

open

space.

Or, the

owner

may

simplybea "land-rich,cash-poor"

family,desiringtoconvertitsland into aliquid asset.

Due

inpart toitsflexibilityas aprivate not-for-profit corporation,Scenic

Hudson

canstructure aland

acqui-sitionto

maximize

theadvantagesto different

landown-ersin different circumstances.

For

instance,ifa

land-owner

is

concerned

about the

income

orcapitalgainstax

implicationsofa saleofland,Scenic

Hudson

can

struc-turethe deal so that

payments

occurovera period of

years,resulting inamanageablelong-termincome stream

fortheseller.Thiscan helplimittheseller's

income and

capital gains taxliability. Inaddition, a sale to Scenic

Hudson

that is

below

theappraised fair

market

value

can qualify as a bargain sale, in

which

the difference

between

thefair

market

value

and

the sale pricequalifies

asa donationto a charitable organization. This

dona-tionisavalid

income

taxdeductionfortheseller.

Sometimes

landowners are interested in the

long-term

preservationoftheirland,but

do

not

want

togive

up

their use

and enjoyment

of the land during their lifetimes.

Under

thesecircumstances,a salewitha life estateagreementisappropriate.This allows thesaleto take place today,butallowsthe

landowners

to

remain

on

thepropertythroughtheir lifetimes.

Upon

the death(s)

of the sellers, full use ofthe propertygoes to Scenic

Hudson.

This technique is also called purchase ofa

remainderinterestinthe land. Alternatively,a sale

and

lease-backcanbe devisedtoallowfor

occupancy

by the

seller fora specifiedtimeperiod.

Conservation

Easement

Acquisition Conservation

easements

are the desired

approach

when

total

owner-shiporcontrolof the landisnot necessarytoprotectits

outstanding resourcevalue.

For

instance,conservation

easements

are appropriateforthe preservationofscenic

viewsheds,family farms,activelyharvested timberlands, orhistoricarchitecture,

where

conservation

and

public benefit can be realized merely by continuing current

landusepractices.

A

conservation

easement

severs the

development

rightsofthe

landowner from

hisor her

bundle

of

prop-ertyrights,leaving the

owner

withfull

ownership

ofthe

land,but with

development

restrictedby the terms ofthe

easement.

Such easements

generallyare validin

perpe-tuity;theyrun withtheland

and

are binding

on

allfuture

landowners.

They

can bewrittenflexibly,to

accommo-date limited future

development

in designated areas,

cluster development, selective tree cutting, or other termsmutually agreed

upon

by the

two

parties.

As

alandprotectionstrategy,theacquisitionof

con-servation

easements

depends

inpart

on

the

good

faithof

the

landowner

in

complying

with itsterms

and

on

the diligenceofthe

easement

holderinenforcingthem.

For

thisreason,Scenic

Hudson

obtains baselinedataabout

theresourcebeing protected throughaerial

and

on-the-ground photographs

and

sitevisits.Scenic

Hudson

has an

easement monitor

on

staff

who

is responsible for

assuring

compliance

with the terms of the easements.

There

have

been

onlyafewviolations to date,

and

these

have

been

resolved to Scenic

Hudson's

satisfaction,

withoutresorting tolegalaction.

Scenic

Hudson

alsoseeks toacquireriverfront trail

easementsacrossprivately

owned

lands,toprovide public access

between

publicly

owned

lands,

and

to further the creationofa

greenway

stretching

from

New

York

Cityto

Albany

on

bothsidesoftheriver.

An

example

ofthisis the

Hyde

ParkTraillinkingtheFranklin

Delano

Roosev-elt

Home

with the Vanderbilt Estate, both

federally-owned

historicsites.

The

trail

was

created in part by

ease-38

CAROLINA

PLANNING

ment

acrosstheproperty ofa privatelandowner.Inthis situation,acquisitionofthelandinfee

was

impractical

and

unnecessary

due

tothenatureoftheresourcebeing

protected,a

narrow

accesspath

between

two

properties.

Conservation

easements

are generally acquired in

two

ways:donation orpurchase. Purchased

easements

are at the heart of public

purchase-of-development-rightsschemes, suchasthe successful

and

much-publi-cized

program

in

Montgomery

County,Maryland.

Sce-nic

Hudson

generallytriesto

encourage

thedonation of

conservationeasements,again usingitscharitablestatus

as

an

incentive to landowners, but has

on

occasion purchased

development

rightstosignificantproperty.

Both

purchased

and donated easements

can reduce landowners' property taxes. In theory,bysevering the

rightto unrestricted

development

oftheland

from

its

bundle

of propertyrights, thefair

market

value ofthe

landisdecreased

from

its"highest

and

best use"toits

currentuse value orpotentialuse value

under

theterms ofthe easement. Localassessors should take thisinto

considerationinassessingsuchproperties.Sincethere

is

no

statewiderequirementthatthey

do

this,however,

the assessment of easement-restricted property is

an

inconsistent business.

Some

assessorsare notfamiliar

with easements, or suspecttheywillbe used by

landown-ersto evade property taxes. It is imperativethat local

governments concerned

with conservation ofsensitive

land resources educatetheirassessorsaboutvaluations

ofeasements. Scenic

Hudson

staff tryto

encourage

the

incorporation of

easement

values intolandassessments through providing information to landowners about

easement

valuation.

Conservation

easements

canalso be usedto reduce

estate taxes, the tax that is levied at the time ofthe transferof propertythrough inheritance.

Many

"land-rich, cash-poor" families face the prospect ofa

com-binedfederal

and

stateestatetaxof

up

to55 percent of

the value of the property.2 This will often force the

landowner

tosellor subdividethepropertyto

make

the

payment

ofthis tax. Ifthe landis subsequently

devel-oped,the naturalorpublicresourceislost forever.

By

loweringthefair

market

value ofthe property, a conser-vation

easement

canoftenlowerthe estatetaxtoalevel

that heirs ofthe propertycan afford.

As

a result, the

propertyremainsinthefamily'shands,

and

itsresource valueispreserved bytheterms oftheeasement.

Finally,a conservation

easement donated

to a land

trustsuchasScenic

Hudson

canbe claimedasa chari-tablededuction bytheowner,

and

may

result in

income

taxsavings.

The

value ofthe

easement

for taxdeduction purposesis

determined

bytakingthe difference

between

thevalue oftheland

unencumbered

and

thevalue ofthe

land

under

easement.Inorderto qualifyforadeduction, however,the

easement must meet

severalstrictcriteria establishedbytheInternal

Revenue

Service.Theseinclude therequirementthat the

easement

providespublic

ac-cess toarecreational resource, orprotectssignificant

naturalhabitat,sceniclandscapes,productivefarmland,

orhistoriclandscapes orstructures.

IdentijyingPublicAccess OpportunitiesScenic

Hudson

seekstoincreasepublic accessalongtheriverover both

public

and

private land.

Abandoned

railroadlines or spurs,

power

line right-of-ways,

and unused

trails all

represent potential for public access

and

recreation.

Often

the

owners

may

be

willing toselloreven donate

these linear properties.

Formerly

underwaterlands that are technically

pub-lic propertybut generally considered to

be

owned

by adjacentlandownersofferintriguingpublic access

pos-sibilities.

Many

partsof the

Hudson

were

dredged dur-ing the1920s

and

1930stocreate today'sshipping

chan-nel.

The

dredgespoil

was

often

dumped

alongtheshore oftheriver.Sincethe Stateof

New

York

claimstitleto

allland

"now

or formerly

below

the

mean

high water

mark

ofthe

Hudson

River," thesedredgespoildeposits

are legally public property. In

many

places, the spoil

deposits have evolved to

become

fullyvegetated, lush land masses; privatelandowners have purchased adja-cent uplands thinking they

were

alsobuying the land thatisdredgespoil.

Scenic

Hudson

was

involvedinalandpurchase over

the past

two

years thatdemonstratesthe significance of thesedredgespoil deposits.Scenic

Hudson

intendedto

purchase

Nutten

Hook,

a lushpeninsulainrural

Colum-biaCounty,

and

thenresellittothe State

Department

of

Environmental

Conservation for future recreational purposes.

A

survey of the property, however,

showed

thatsignificant

amounts

ofland

were

actuallydredge

spoil deposits.Insteadofpurchasing thisalready

pub-licly-owned land, Scenic

Hudson

purchased only the

historicuplands

and conveyed

them

tothestate,saving the public a substantial

sum

of

money.

With

a grant

from

the

Hudson

River

Improvement

Fund, Scenic

Hudson

has

undertaken

astudyto identify

some

ofthese "formerly underwater lands" alongthe

Hudson.

The

studywilldelineate the extentof dredge

spoil deposits ina specified pilot area

and

notify the

state,titlecompanies, surveyors

and

thelikethat these landsare actually

owned

bythe Stateof

New

York.

A

number

ofopportunitiesforpublic accesstothe

Hudson

River

may

becreated as aresultofthisstudy.

Greenway

Planning

At

the

end

of 1991,

New

York

Governor Mario

Cuomo

signedintolawaplantocreate

a

Hudson

River Valley

Greenway,

asystem of connected

trails

and

parks along bothsidesofthe

Hudson,

stretch-ing

from

New

York

City toAlbany.

The

greenway

plan

is

more

thanatrailsystem,however;itencourages the

Hudson

River Valleyto

engage

inregionalplanning,to

think

and

act likearegion with

common

economic and

environmental interests,ratherthanas acollection of municipalities

and

counties.

The Greenway

legislation

tourism development, master plan

and

zoning

ordi-nance

updates,overlayzoningforwaterfrontareas,

and

natural

and

culturalresourceinventories.

A

Greenway

Counciland Conservancy have beenestablished toprovide technicalassistanceinthese areas to thevarious

com-munitiesinthe region.

Since the

Greenway

plan relies

on

the voluntary

participation ofriverfront municipalities, it does not

threatenthe

home

ruleauthorityoflocalgovernment.

Incentivesforparticipation includepreferencefor state

infrastructure

and

landacquisitionfunding

and

indem-nificationofmunicipalities

from

legalchallenges arising

from implementation

of the greenway.

Scenic

Hudson

ishelping

communities

to plan

and

create projects related tothe greenway. This includes assistanceintrail-creation,usingthe

above-mentioned

land preservation techniques; assistance with grant

proposalwriting;

and

provisionofinformation

and

ad-vice

on

innovative zoning devices, such as waterfront

overlay zones,to

promote

compatiblelandusepractices

inthe

greenway

area.

Waterfront

Development

Scenic

Hudson

works

in partnershipwith local

and

county

governments

to

promote sound

planning

prac-ticesalongthe

Hudson

riverfront.Itsgoalistomitigate

visualimpacts of

new

constructionalong theriver, pre-serve theintegrityof theriver'sshorelinebyprotecting

it

from haphazard

and

inappropriatedevelopment,

and

create public accessopportunities withinprivate

river-frontdevelopments. This is

done

both proactively,by providinglocal

governments

with information

on

crea-tivezoning

and

planning techniques,

and

reactively,by reviewing

develop-ment

proposals,siteplans,ordinances

and

master plans, providing input at

publichearings

and

scopingsessions,

and working

directlywith developers

to mitigate negative impacts

on

the

riverfront.

Waterfront

development

specialists atScenic

Hudson

espousea

number

of

sound

planningprinciples.

The

firstis

that modifications can be

made

to riverfront

development

proposals to

make them

lessobtrusive

on

the

natu-ralenvironment.

On

specific

develop-ment

proposals,Scenic

Hudson

advo-cates

and

encouragesheight

and

den-sitylimitations,theuse of earth-tone

colorsinconstructionmaterials, ade-quatesetbacks

from

the river'sedge,

clusterdevelopment,theprovisionof

natural

open

spaceinprivate develop-ments,limitingtheintrusionof

devel-opment

into sensitiveriver habitats,

and

timing construction to occur attimes of theyear

when

itisleast likelytodisturb sensitivenatural

proc-esses.

A

second principleis that non-water

dependent

in-dustryshould notbelocated

on

theriver."Inthe past,

much

of the industry

on

the river

was

truly water-dependent," saysScenic

Hudson

waterfront specialist

Ellen Hanig. "Businesses

depended

on

ships

and

the railroad[which runs along the

Hudson]

for

transporta-tion."

Today

this is

no

longer the case.

The

trucking industry,enabled bythe interstate

highway

system,isthe

predominant

transporter of

commercial

goods.

The

problem

remains, however, that

many

localities have not gotten

around

to changing the industrial zoning along their waterfronts. "This," according to Hanig, "permits non-water-dependent,oftennoxious

and

visu-allyintrusive industrial facilitiesto continue tolocate

along the river.

The

challenge is to

encourage

local

governments

to

modify

thezoning along their

water-fronts to reflect the wonderful recreational resources

thatthese areascan

and

shouldbe."

Scenic

Hudson

encourageslocalgovernmentstoupdate

theirzoning.Italso

opposes

specificindustrialprojects,

suchasrecentproposalsfortheCityof

Yonkers

water-frontinvolvingsludge processing

and

electricity

cogen-eration.Scenic

Hudson

and

otherlocal citizen'sgroups maintainthat theseactivitiesare not water-dependent

and

shouldbelocatedinnon-sensitive areas

away from

theriver.

The

provisionof publicaccessinprivate

development

isathird

development

principle.Well-designedpublic access

walkways

have an

amenity

valuethatcan

enhance

40

CAROLINA

PLANNING

ResidentalDevelopmentatHalf

Moon

Bay

the salespotential of private residential

development

alongthe waterfront.

Good

designallaysthe potential

for problems, such as vandalism

and

loss ofthe

resi-dents'sense ofsecurity.

Scenic

Hudson

haspublishedaguideto local

govern-ments

entitled Integrating Public Access with Private

Development:

The

Two

Can

Mix,

which promotes

a variety of techniquesfor effective provision ofpublic

access.

These

includegradeseparations

between

private residences

and

community open

space;boardwalksthat

enhance

the feeling of separation

between

the public

pathway

and

private residences;use of landscapingasa natural barrier (shrubs,trees, lagoons, naturalrisesor

depressions); vertical separation through

mixed

uses

(e.g.,residential unitsoverretail space);

and

designa-tionofpublicusehours,enforced bygatesand/orguards.

To

date,therearefewexamples alongthe

Hudson

of

effectiveprovisionofpublic accessin private develop-ment.

At

Half

Moon

Bay

at

Croton-on-Hudson,

the

developer provideda four-foot

wide

publictrail in

re-sponsetorequestsby Scenic

Hudson

and

thevillage,but

thereisvirtually

no

separation

between

the public

and

privateuses.Partofthe

problem

isthatthe buildings are

soclosetotheriverthatlittle

room

existsforseparation ofuses. In addition, thetraildoes notreallylead

any-where,resultingininfrequentuse.Thisisa

good

argu-ment

for

both

sound

designpractices

and

the creationof

the

Hudson

River Valley Greeriway,

which

willattempt

to linkthese individual

segments

intomeaningfultrails

withrealdestinations.

A

more

promisingprojectistheWaterfrontatFishkill,

a

mixed

use

development

projectlocated

on

apeninsula

inthe

Hudson

and

on

connectinguplands. Itwill

ulti-matelyinvolveover1,000 residentialunits,a

shopping

center

and

awaterfrontrestaurant.

At

Scenic

Hudson's

urging,a 30-foot

wide

public accesstrailwillrunacross the peninsula's waterfront,

and

all land uses

on

the

peninsulawill

be

generally public-oriented, water-de-pendent,

and

recreational.Allthehousingunitswillbe

located

away from

theriver.

Scenic

Hudson

encourageslocalgovernmentstoinclude public access stipulationsinthe saleofpublic riverfront

land to private developers. It also presses for public access provisionsin rezoning petitions that affectthe waterfront.

Finally, Scenic

Hudson

promotes

the

message

that

open

spacecostslessinterms of municipalservicesthan

private residentialdevelopment. This arguesagainstthe

perceptionthat private

development

willalwayshavea netpositive effect

on

thetaxbaseofcommunities through

the provisionofra tables.Inastudyofseveralwaterfront

communities

in the

Hudson

Valley, Scenic

Hudson

found

that

open

land,inthe

form

offarmland

and

parks, costthese

communities an

average of

38

centsin services

needed

foreverydollaritbroughtinthrough property

taxes. Residential development, by contrast,cost the

same

communities

an average of $1.19foreverydollar

generated through taxes.

Where

it is appropriate

and

affectsriverfront land, Scenic

Hudson

promotes

these findingsatpublic hearings.

Conclusion

Waterfront

development

alongthe

Hudson

Riverisa

dynamic

process affectedbythe region's history,

econ-omy

and

naturalattributes. Privatedevelopers are un-derstandablyattracted to the

Hudson,

due

to its

pres-tige,scenicamenities,

and

proximityto

New

York

City.

The

challenge facing planners

and

conservationists is

how

to

accommodate

inevitable

and

desirable

economic

development

without killing the goose that laid the

golden egg.Scenic

Hudson

isbut

one example

of

how

thelocal,not-for-profitsectorcanassistpublic agencies

inprotectingsensitiveriverfront lands,provide

mean-ingfulpublic access to the river,

and

promote

sustain-able, sensitive

economic development

that enhances

regional qualityoflife.This partnershipisboth neces-sary

and

desirableinthesetimes oflimitedpublic

finan-cial resources.

While

the

Hudson

Valleyis

unique

in

some

ways,in

terms ofitsindustrialhistory

and

proximityto

one

ofthe

largest,

most

populouscitiesinthe world, ScenicHudson's

approach

could

be

equally usefulinotherregionswith

significantwaterfronts. Essential to the success ofthis

approach

are

an

organized

and

confidentcitizenry, crea-tivefund-raising,

and

arecognitionthat

communication

and

partnership

between

state

and

local

governments

and

not-for-profitgroups canyieldgreaterresultsthan

either

working

alone,

cp

Notes

^The HudsonValleyisdefinedhereas the ten -county areacomprising

the following countiesbetween

New

YorkCityand Albanyover150

miles to the north: on the east side of the river, Westchester,