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Woodstock Times - Features | 11/12/2009 |
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Signing ceremony
Comeau easement set for November 16 adoption |
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| | Kevin Smith of Woodstock Land Conservancy. | |
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by George Pattison
The long-awaited adoption of the deed of conservation easement that will forever protect most of the Comeau property from development is scheduled to take place early next week on the grounds of the town-owned, 76-acre Comeau parcel, Woodstock supervisor Jeff Moran announced on November 10.
At 3:30 p.m. Monday, November 16, at the town's main office building on Comeau Drive, the easement document will be signed into law by Moran, representing the town, and an official of the Woodstock Land Conservancy, the town's partner in the conservation arrangement, said the supervisor. Under the agreement the town (the "grantor") will retain ownership of the property and responsibility for its management, while the WLC (the "grantee") will be charged with enforcing the terms of the deed.
The signing ceremony is open to the public. Among those expected to attend are the other four members of the Town Board, representatives of the WLC, and residents who served on the nine-member Comeau Advisory Committee, which in late 2002 and early 2003 laid the groundwork for the innovative agreement between the town and the WLC.
The supervisor also noted that the signing event was scheduled to take place after school hours, so that selected children who represent the town's future - members of the Woodstock Elementary School's student council and participants in the Woodstock Soccer Club, a youth program based at the Comeau property - could be on hand for the occasion.
The last potential obstacle to the easement's adoption was removed on November 2, when the WLC's board of directors voted unanimously to accept a revision of an amendment to the agreement. The revision, requested by the town, eliminates a clause that would have authorized the WLC to formulate a "stewardship plan" for the long-term management of the Comeau property if the town failed to devise such a plan within 18 months after the easement's execution. At the same meeting the WLC board also unanimously affirmed its 2003 resolution to accept the deed of conservation easement.
Woodstock voters approved the easement in a November 2003 referendum. Progress toward its adoption was stalled until October 2008, however, when the New York State Supreme Court finally dismissed the last claim in a long-running lawsuit challenging the easement's constitutionality. The prospects for adoption gained momentum in recent months. Last July 14, the WLC urged the town to accept an amendment providing for the creation of the aforementioned stewardship plan; the town agreed to do so. Then, in an October 20 presentation to the Town Board, Steven Barshov, the town's special counsel on the easement, assured skeptical board members and residents that the agreement would not unduly restrict the town's use of the property. Less than a month after Barshov's appearance, the two parties are prepared to sign the historic document.
Expanded Land Conservancy Presence
Meanwhile, the WLC has received a two-year, $75,000 grant that will enable it to solidify its management structure and expand its land-protection activities in the region. In a November 3 interview, WLC President Kevin Smith said that the nonprofit organization would use the grant funds to hire its current executive director, John Winter, on a three-quarters-time basis, effective November 3, and to fill a newly created, half-time position of membership and outreach coordinator. Working as a paid consultant, Winter has served as the WLC's executive director since 2006. The staff hirings are the first in the 20-year history of the primarily volunteer-run organization.
"This grant reflects a recognition by the state and the DEC that with more professional staffing, land trusts are more capable of helping New York State realize its open land priorities, both urban and rural," said Smith. "It will help make the Woodstock Land Conservancy a more visible organization that is built for permanence, and will vastly increase our ability to reach out and respond to the community."
Word of the award came at an October 1 press conference in Albany announcing the 2009 funding of a grant program supported by the state Environmental Protection Fund. Over all, 65 grants, totaling $1.4 million, were awarded to approximately 50 land trusts in the state. The WLC grant, one of seven conferred in the category of professional development, will be administered jointly by the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York office of the Land Trust Alliance (LTA).
The LTA comprises some 1,700 local land trusts, including the Woodstock Land Conservancy, Winter noted in a November 11 interview. In recent years, he said, the LTA has adopted "broader and stronger" standards and practices for its member organizations. The WLC's compliance with LTA standards, while already rigorous, will be enhanced by the upgraded staffing funded by the grant.
"This creates an opportunity for the WLC to have a clear, professional presence in Woodstock and the surrounding communities," said Winter, who described local land trusts as "the front door" to their state's interest in land conservation. "I'm really grateful that the community and the state have been there to support us in these difficult economic times." ++
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