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Erie board weighs measurable scoring system to rank open-space acquisitions
Summary
Town staff presented a new Land Acquisition and Protection Strategy that uses measurable criteria and a composite staff score to prioritize properties for acquisition; board members asked to trial the scoring process and requested staff provide a live GIS map and a check-in in February with final results in March.
Luke, the town deputy account clerk, presented a revised Land Acquisition and Protection Strategy (LAPS) intended to give staff and the Open Space and Trails Advisory Board a transparent, measurable way to rank potential open-space acquisitions. "This is our map that we've been using," Luke said during his demonstration, and he described a composite-scoring spreadsheet that scores parcels on adjacency, climate resiliency, community identity, developability, ecological value, recreational opportunity, trail connectivity and unique landscape features.
Staff said the scoring is a desktop review performed independently by 3–4 subject-matter staff, whose scores produce a composite ranking. Luke said the process is designed to be low-cost to the town: "This is just a desktop review," he added, noting it does not require field sampling or consultant fees. Staff demonstrated example scores for properties on the town list and said the system will make it easier to justify why the town pursues one parcel over another.
Board members discussed participation options. One member urged members to complete independent scoring at home and then harmonize results with staff. Another member said boots-on-the-ground ecological judgments are best left to staff with field experience. Luke proposed a hybrid approach: provide each board member a personal tab to score parcels, allow staff to complete their assessments, then reconcile major discrepancies and present a combined result.
On timing, staff estimated the desktop scoring exercise across the existing parcel list would take one to two months, with a progress check in February and a full presentation of final results in March. Luke said the internal scoring spreadsheet will be linked to a live GIS map so reviewers can click a parcel and see why it received a particular score. "The goal is to share that with you all and really kind of go through having the spreadsheet and the map side by side," he said.
The presentation emphasized that this tool is not a final acquisition decision but a means to prioritize and justify outreach to landowners and to identify likely funding paths (grants, land trusts, or partner agencies). No vote was taken; staff will proceed with the planned desktop scoring and return with results and the linked map in the coming weeks.
Next steps: staff will apply the scoring to the town's existing parcel list, set up member-specific scoring tabs, complete a staff composite score, and present progress at a February check-in followed by final results in March.
