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County to match $225,000 for Village of Woodbury conservation easement, approves SEQRA type II finding
Summary
The committee authorized the County Executive to sign a funding agreement and accept a conservation easement over 25.6 acres in the Village of Woodbury, with the county contributing $225,000 from the Open Space Fund as a match to the $450,000 acquisition.
The Rules and Agreements and Intergovernmental Relations Committee authorized the County Executive to execute a funding agreement and to accept and record a conservation easement conveyed by the Village of Woodbury for two parcels on Smith Cove Road totaling 25.6 acres. The action implements an Open Space Fund award in which Orange County will provide $225,000 as a match to a $450,000 acquisition by the Village of Woodbury.
Alan Cernson, identified in the meeting as Commissioner of Planning (deputy commissioner noted in the agenda), told the committee that planning and county attorney staff prepared draft documents to accept and record the conservation easement for the parcels described on the Hampton tax map as section 218, lots 2, 49 and 53. He said the documents were drafted following a May resolution that authorized staff to develop the necessary documentation for the county’s acceptance and recording of the easement.
Committee members moved and approved an amendment to the resolution to include a SEQRA determination that the acceptance of the conservation easement is a Type II action under SEQRA regulations. The county attorney referenced the relevant regulation as section 617.5(c)(39) (state SEQRA regulation) when explaining that a Type II determination does not require further SEQRA steps. Following the amendment, the committee voted to approve the main resolution authorizing the County Executive to sign the funding agreement and accept and record the conservation easement (Legislative Request No. 289).
The transcript records that the documents are drafted and that county planning and attorney staff will proceed with final execution following the legislature’s authorization. Committee members asked whether the drafts remained confidential; staff said the documents are not yet signed and thus confidentiality questions remained open until execution. The item passed after the committee voted to amend the resolution to include the SEQRA Type II finding and then voted on the amended resolution; the transcript records the motions carried by voice vote.
Implementation steps include executing the funding agreement, recording the conservation easement with the county clerk, and finalizing the Open Space Fund disbursement to the Village of Woodbury. The committee’s action was recorded under Legislative Request No. 289.
