Bedford Community Preservation Fund
What is a Community Preservation Fund?
New York State's Hudson Valley Community Preservation Act (HVCPA) permits the Town of Bedford to establish a Community Preservation Fund (CPF) to “preserve community character, natural areas, agricultural lands, open space, historic places, and to create public parks and recreation areas.” If passed by a Town-wide referendum, the CPF will be funded by a one-time, graduated transfer fee paid by buyers of real estate. This fund will enable the purchase and preservation of critical lands in Bedford (including Katonah, Bedford Hills and Bedford Village), as outlined in a Community Preservation Plan. The CPF is a powerful tool that will help Bedford preserve clean drinking water, natural areas, agricultural lands, forests and habitat, open space, historic places, and public parks. It will help ensure that our town is enhanced for future generations by supporting land and water conservation, improving the health and quality of life for community residents of all ages, incomes, and backgrounds. Six New York towns have already adopted a CPF using the HVCPA with much success and local popularity, and five additional towns on Eastern Long Island have adopted similar programs.
Which properties will be preserved?
A CPF citizen advisory board will be appointed to advise the Town on potential projects, with a focus on finding creative ways to work with landowners to protect lands that are of special importance to the community. Participation in the program is entirely voluntary; it does not create any involuntary restrictions or regulations on landowners. A Town-approved Community Preservation Plan will provide guidance by evaluating land parcels according to nine preservation categories such as recreation, drinking water, woodlands, wildlife habitats and scenic vistas. The process includes detailed safeguards to ensure accountability, full transparency, and public involvement. Expenditures are subject to public hearings and Town Board approval.
Why is a CPF Needed?
While Bedford currently has an Open Space Acquisition Fund for land purchases, the funding for that initiative is no longer sufficient to make meaningful purchases given the escalating cost of property in Bedford, which increased by 37% since the Pandemic.* The Open Space Fund currently generates $496,000 per year. Putting that into perspective, the current market value of the average single acre of land in Bedford is more than $315,000.** The rising real estate market is making conservation efforts for future generations more difficult, putting at risk some of Bedford’s most iconic open parcels, historic places, sensitive habitats and scenic viewsheds.
* Source: Bedford Assessor data, full year median 2023 vs. 2019.
** Source: Bedford Assessor data, full year 2023 mean average.
If enacted, the transfer fee could raise approximately $1.8 million per year based on an average of the last three years of Bedford property sales (2021-2023).
How is the CPF funded?
The CPF will be funded by a one-time, incremental fee of up to 2% paid by buyers upon their purchase of residential and commercial properties in Bedford, including undeveloped land. It is not funded by a sales tax increase, an increase in property tax or a bond. It will never show up on a property tax bill. The real estate transfer fee for community preservation includes exemptions and discounts designed to protect middle income and entry level buyers.
Once the Fund is in place, Bedford will also be in position to attract Federal, State and philanthropic matching grants to increase funding for important projects.
How does this impact local real estate?
“As a realtor in Bedford for the last 50 years I believe that a concerted effort to preserve open spaces in Bedford adds tremendous value to the Town and individual properties. Preserved open space is one of the few assets that lasts forever. This initiative will also help preserve Bedford's rural feel, which differentiates it from other more densely developed suburban towns. Access to preserved land, trails, scenic vistas, country roads, lower density, continue to be extremely attractive to our purchasers. I believe this initiative makes great economic sense for town residents and adds tremendous value to our properties.”
Dan Ginnel
Principal
Ginnel Real Estate
