By JEFF MORRIS //
At the July 16 Bedford Town Board meeting, the board voted to table a plan that would have put a property transfer tax proposal on the November ballot. The plan was the product of a task force authorized by the board in January under the auspices of the Open Space Advisory Committee.
After the task force presented its recommendations to the town board in March and May, a public hearing on the matter was opened June 18. That hearing, which was left open, elicited numerous reactions for and against the proposal, both at that meeting and in subsequent written comments. The proposal, which would have established a land preservation fund, was designed to follow requirements of legislation enacted by the state in 2019 that permits towns and cities in Westchester, Putnam and Ulster counties to establish funds for a variety of land conservation purposes.
Proponents of the transfer tax plan believe that the amount raised by the levy — expected to be approximately $496,000 in the current tax year — is inadequate to meet the town’s conservation and preservation needs and goals.
The proposed fund would be in addition to an open space levy that was voted in by town residents in 2017 and enacted in 2000. That levy is an annual tax on property owners, currently at 2%, and has been used to make several purchases of land for preservation. The fund balance from the open space levy stands at $1.1 million, with much of the money that was previously raised having been used for those land purchases.
Proponents of the transfer tax plan believe that the amount raised by the levy — expected to be approximately $496,000 in the current tax year — is inadequate to meet the town’s conservation and preservation needs and goals. Critics feared the harmful impact of the added tax on the local real estate market, among other concerns.
While Supervisor Ellen Calves acknowledged “a great deal of work” went into developing the plan, and credited the task force with working very hard to create a tax model that would exempt home sales under a certain amount, she said the board had reservations about “whether this was the right way to move forward.”
“I don’t think this work will go to waste,” she added, noting that the plan, while still broad, will be helpful in informing the comprehensive plan and the work of the Open Space Acquisition Committee going forward.
Board members Stephanie McCaine, Tom Catoliato, Bobbi Bittker and Andrés Castillo all expressed sentiments agreeing that the proposal’s goals were desirable, but that the specifics of the plan needed work. They also agreed there is a need for more educational efforts about land preservation, and that there was simply not enough time to complete the advance work required to put any proposals on the ballot in November.
The board closed the public hearing and voted unanimously to table the proposal. Leaf blower season Another public hearing was continued from June regarding a revised amendment to the town’s noise ordinance. Under the revision, which the board passed, the use of gas-powered leaf blowers will now be permitted from Oct. 26 to Dec. 7.
After extensive comments on the proposed changes were heard at the June 4 town board meeting, the board left the hearing open in order to revise the dates of permitted use to provide a longer season in the fall, while eliminating a spring cleanup period.
After closing the hearing at the July 16 meeting, the board promptly passed the revised ordinance. Plans for Bedford Hills Planning Director Jesica Youngblood gave two presentations: one an update on the DIG Grant project for Bedford Hills, and the other regarding a grant application for construction to improve and extend the multimodal pathway along Route 117 in Bedford Hills. The DIG Grant from Westchester County will fund a variety of wayfaring signage to guide drivers and pedestrians through the Bedford Hills hamlet’s downtown. The project would also promote consistent branding for future sign installations to provide a unique identity for the hamlet.
The total cost of the improvements is approximately $150,000. The pathway application follows up on a 2023 $50,000 grant, also from the county, to develop designs to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety along the Route 117/Saw Mill River Parkway corridor. The proposed application would aim to gain state matching grants for construction of improvements along the pathway, including reconstruction of Saw Mill entrances and exits and new crosswalks from all the way to Katonah. The board voted to approve the application.