Does Scarsdale Need More Open Space?

Though some fear that all of the open space in Scarsdale has been grabbed by developers, the reality is that the village is actually 30% open space. This includes village-owned properties such as parks as well as privately owned properties including the two golf courses located within our borders.

However in order to preserve scant open space for the future, the Finance Committee of the Scarsdale Village Trustees met on Tuesday night 9-10 to consider the creation of an Open Space Preservation Fund. The fund would allow the Village to purchase pre-designated properties when they become available and would be funded by a real estate transfer tax when homes are sold.

Specifically, the trustees discussed imposing up to a 2% tax on the amount of a sale above the median home value. For example, if the median home value in Scarsdale is $1,100,000, a buyer who purchases a home for $1,300,000 would pay a fee of up to 2% of $200,000 that would go into the open space fund. The median home value calculation would be done by the state.

In 2007 the NYS Legislature passed the Hudson Valley Community Preservation Act that enables any town or city in Westchester and Putnam Counties to establish a community preservation fund and impose taxes to fund it.

In order to establish the fund the new law would need to be passed by village-wide referendum, so all residents would have the chance to vote on the measure. The act requires that the village establish an open space advisory board to designate parcels to be acquired in advance. Only properties on this list can be purchased with the funds, and the list can be revised every five years.

A similar measure was considered by the Board of Trustees in 2010 but turned down due to the recession. Realtors feared that the imposition of the tax would further depress real estate sales at the time. A calculation from a village report shows that if the village had imposed a 2% tax at the time, $1.9 mm would have been raised in 2010 and $1.5 million in 2009.

What are the merits?

• It creates a fund to preserve open space and shield scarce space from development.
• It would also allow the Village to purchase land when the opportunities arise rather than having to post a bond.
• The monies would be accrued without raising taxes each year to feed the fund.
• The burden would be borne by newcomers to Scarsdale who may be attracted by the open space they would help to preserve.
• It prevents development of open space – and as Trustee Stern said, it allows the village to "save the town for our children and our grandchildren," because once a home is built on a site, that land can no longer be preserved.

However, some had reservations about the proposal.

Jon Mark pointed out that "more open space means that the property tax roll is going down. I understand the desire to increase the amount of open space but there is a cost in lost tax revenue." He added, "By the time this fund accrues, the open spaces may be gone. I have a real question about how much it accomplishes – though we could also post a bond to buy open space."

David Lee also had doubts and said, "This puts it on the back of people who are selling their homes. It will have a depressive effect on the sales price and will be felt by the seller."

Since the measure would need to be passed by a village-wide referendum, the trustees discussed how to gauge public opinion on the creation of the preservation fund. They decided to reach out to the Scarsdale Forum and to the League of Women Voters to do studies to assess the sentiments of residents on this issue.