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Chester adopts community preservation fund law, sets advisory board and referendum plan
Summary
The Chester Town Board adopted a local law establishing a community preservation fund and created an advisory board to develop a preservation plan; the transfer-tax component (0.75%) would require voter approval in a November referendum, the board said.
The Town of Chester board voted on June 10 to adopt Introductory Local Law 3 of 2026, establishing a community preservation fund under Town Law §64-L and formalizing steps toward a real-estate transfer-tax referendum.
Supervisor Halry and staff told the board the action creates the fund (which can accept but not solicit donations) and authorizes the board to appropriate money into it through the budget. The preservation plan that will guide spending is still being drafted and will reference the town’s comprehensive plan; adoption of the transfer-tax (a proposed 0.75% real-estate transfer tax) is a separate local-law step that must go to voters. The board declared the matter a Type II action under SEQRA and the law was adopted as Local Law 5 of 2026 with instructions to file it with the Secretary of State.
No members of the public had signed up to speak at the hearing on the local law itself. During the public-comment portion of the meeting, however, a participant cautioned that a 0.75% transfer tax could raise housing transaction costs and might be borne by sellers in negotiations, and urged the public to understand the implications before the referendum.
The board also took the administrative step of appointing members to a community preservation fund advisory board so the group can prepare the statutory preservation plan in time for the election calendar. Supervisor Halry explained that, to meet the timetable for a November referendum, the plan needs to be adopted well in advance (the process includes a local-law introduction and required notice periods).
Votes at a glance: the preservation-fund law was adopted and will be filed with the Secretary of State; the board approved appointments to the advisory board (one member requested interviews and recorded an abstention), and the board noted a referendum on the transfer tax will appear on the November ballot if the plan and subsequent local law proceed on schedule.
The town indicated next steps: finalize the preservation plan, route any required county referrals, and set the local-law schedule so voters can decide on the transfer-tax component in November.
