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Legislature advances $4 million Open Space proposal, schedules two public hearings
Summary
The Rules Committee approved creating a $4 million Open Space capital project and scheduled public hearings on two potential acquisitions — 2.1 acres in the Village of Chester and a 62.6-acre conservation easement in the Town of Warwick — citing available state farmland funds and an Open Space Fund balance above $7.5 million if approved.
The Rules Committee on Jan. 22 endorsed creating Capital Project No. 128 and appropriating $4,000,000 to Orange County’s Open Space Fund for 2026. Thomas J. Faggione moved the appropriation and Alan J. Sorensen, AICP, reviewed recent fund history, saying the fund was reestablished with $1 million in 2024 and an additional $4 million added in 2025; approving the new $4 million would leave the fund with more than $7.5 million available for land protection or park creation.
Sorensen highlighted that the State of New York has about $67 million earmarked for the Farmland Implementation Grant this year, which the county could leverage to protect farmland and create parkland. The committee clarified that no specific projects were yet designated for the new funding.
The committee also approved two public hearings under New York State General Municipal Law §247. One hearing, on Feb. 19, 2026 at 3:00 p.m., will consider the acquisition of 2.1 acres to preserve open space in the Village of Chester. A second hearing, set for Feb. 19 at 3:15 p.m., will address a proposed 62.6-acre conservation easement in the Town of Warwick; Sorensen said the Warwick easement is a SEQRA Type II action.
The motions to create the capital project and to set the hearings carried unanimously.
