The Orange County Planning Department wants to hear from residents as it inches closer to finalizing a new open space plan, according to county planning commissioner Alan Sorensen.
The plan will map out sites with high open space values throughout the county and guide local land preservation for years to come.
“We are developing this plan for the residents of Orange County, and at the end of the process, it is your plan,” Sorensen said during a May 4 open space plan public meeting in Middletown. “Please send us your ideas and recommendations.”
Residents are encouraged to submit their favorite recreation sites, their thoughts on water and farmland protection, open spaces they wish to be preserved, and more through online surveys.
“Open space” refers to lands not yet developed for residential, commercial, or industrial uses, such as parks, preserves, trails, agricultural lands, water, and other natural resources.
An interactive map also enables residents to pin individual sites.
The public input, together with scientific data collected by the department and Orange County Land Trust, will form the basis of the final open space plan.
Orange County Land Trust Conservation Director Kyle Sanduski said at the meeting that local governments or nonprofits have three basic tools to preserve land.
First is the conservation easement, a legal agreement with the landowner to permanently limit developments on parcels with high conservation value.
Or they can simply buy the lands and manage on their own, Sanduski said.
The third is a trail or public access easement that allows the public use of private land for accessing recreational or scenic sites.
Sanduski highlighted a signature project of his organization—the pending purchase of Sugarloaf Mountain in Chester.
“It really represents a perfect blend of what we hope to achieve in land conservation: ecological significance, cultural and historical significance, the recreational and wildlife corridor that it provides,” he said, adding that the ultimate goal is to transfer the mountain into the state park system.
He also cited the ongoing purchase of the town of Deerpark lands near the Port Jervis watershed to protect the city’s water source and develop recreational trails.
Orange County government also has a policy of screening county-owned lands for conservation values before auctions or deed sales—most of these properties ended up in county ownership because of tax delinquency.
For example, a six-acre parcel in Warwick with access to Mount Eve was preserved through the policy, Sorensen said.
He added that there is no perfect conservation policy and that every parcel presents a unique challenge in balancing development needs with open space interests.
Orange County adopted its first open space plan in 2004, which was later incorporated as part of its Comprehensive Plan.
In the past 10 years or so, the county has seen many new developments of residential apartments, warehouse distribution centers, and large-scale solar farms.
All major developments will also be reflected in the updated open space map.
A draft open space plan is expected in the fall.
