Eagle River: Facts and Questions

Eagle River: Facts and Questions [source: Somers Town Board, 2/03/05]

Eagle River-Basic Facts

Purchase of the "Eagle River" property is now moving towards the final stage. The buyers - the Town of Somers, Westchester County, New York City, and the State of New York - are very close to a contract with the developers, ICC Bridgeport LP/Eagle River LP. The resulting deal will ensure the protection of the entire 654-acre parcel from future development in a manner consistent with the "end-use plan" developed by the Town.

The only use of the property other than as open-space for passive recreation, hiking trails and the like, will be as a possible site for a Town community center and one or two ball fields. A community center could be built within a 15-acre section of the property reserved specifically for such use and owned by the Town of Somers.

Westchester County and the Town will jointly own the eastern and central sections of the property, aside from the Town-owned site, comprising a total of 370 acres. New York City, through its Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), will own the western section of the property, approximately 269 acres.

All areas other than the Town's 15-acre parcel will be protected as permanent open space with access for passive recreation.

The Town will administer those areas held jointly with Westchester County but allow access to all Westchester County residents for use of hiking trails and other passive recreational facilities. The Town and County aim to eventually connect these trails with Lasdon's and perhaps Muscoot, thus creating a nature-trail system throughout the central area of Somers.

In sum, the major result of all this is that Somers residents will never have to face another development proposal on this scenic and environmentally sensitive property at the same time gaining recreational access to it in perpetuity.

Eagle River-FAQs

Why is Somers doing this?

· This project is one piece in the overall effort to protect and enhance Somers' semi-rural and community character, our basic quality of life.

Purchasing Eagle River represents a major step in protecting the Town's environment, its water and open spaces, as well as limiting overall development pressure on its schools, roads, and recreational facilities. Eagle River represented one of Somers' last remaining unprotected environmental treasures.

· Without this purchase, the Town faced the imminent construction of a sprawling subdivision.

A 108-home, over 600 acre, subdivision represented the latest threat to this parcel. It would have seriously impacted our already overcrowded schools and roads, not to mention the loss of the unbroken forested ridges and streams that buffer so much of the very heart of the Town. The character of the historic Primrose road corridor and Mt. Zion neighborhood would have been severely and irretrievably altered, as would the scenic vistas from Reis Park, Primrose Street, Van Rensselaer Road, and Route 35.

How much is this going to cost the average Somers homeowner?

· The Town will be obligated for $ 4million towards the entire $20.5 million purchase price.

Somers will bond for an amount roughly double what Somers voters approved in our 2000 open-space referendum. At current rates, that will represent approximately $28 per year in increased taxes for the average household over the life of the bond.

How is this being paid for?

· The deal to buy Eagle River is extremely complex but comes down to all four buyers - the Town, City, County, and State - shouldering a portion of the cost.

The property is being bought for $20.5 million, plus closing costs and initial management expenses, by the Town of Somers (which is contributing $4 million to $4.1 million), New York City (which is contributing $9.422 million, plus closing costs) and the County of Westchester (which is contributing $4 million to $4.05 million, with New York State purchasing a conservation easement (contributing $3.2 million plus closing costs). The property will become a nature preserve and public park, known as the Angle Fly Preserve.

What am I getting for all this money?

· The Town is leveraging its money in such a way that it is obtaining 654 acres of open-space protection and passive recreational opportunity for $4.1 million, an enormous bargain in today's real-estate market.

Essentially, Somers residents will be the prime beneficiaries of this entire open-space purchase. The Town is also taking title to a 15-acre parcel that includes the Reynold's farmhouse and the site of the Primrose Farms condominiums in order to protect the historic farmhouse and provide space for a possible community center and a ball field.

· The Town will also co-own and manage roughly 430 acres.

The central and eastern sections of the property will be owned by both Somers and Westchester County but managed by the Town. They will be reserved for hiking and nature trails with an additional buffer of 269 acres owned by the DEP and preserved as open space. An additional benefit is that the DEP will continue to pay property taxes on its portion of the land. With access to all this land, the Town will also be able to finally complete a trail system linking Muscoot, Lasdon, Reis Park, the Mahopac Branch railroad trail, and eventually perhaps, Somers hamlet thus providing residents with tremendously improved passive recreational opportunities.

· Lastly, not only are Somers residents gaining unparalleled amounts of open-space, but all that goes with that in terms of relief from traffic and schools congestion, as well as the preservation of community character.

Aren't there conditions attached by other partners? What am I giving up?

· The State of New York is obtaining a conservation easement on a sizable chunk of the property, which essentially ensures that those areas can never be built on. · The City will retain title on the Western section as a watershed buffer; again ensuring the land remains forever undeveloped in any way.

All lands will be accessible for passive use - nature and hiking trails. County residents will have access to those areas held jointly with the Town of Somers, areas that will be for hiking or other passive use.

· Additionally, the County will require that Somers make good faith efforts in implementing a plan for 188 units of affordable housing.

This is the same requirement that Lewisboro and other towns that have received County money have agreed to. The plan is to be worked out by Somers and represents essentially a commitment the Town has already made to affordable housing. The Town would be responsible for determining how such a plan is implemented and where such housing is located.

It is important to recognize though in regard to this last issue that Somers faces no "quota" in regard to affordable housing, nor any other "mandate" to build or locate such housing on any specific property in some specific amount. There will be no housing of any kind, affordable or otherwise, constructed on the Eagle River property.

Won't Somers be losing a lot of potential tax revenue?

· If developed, Eagle River would have placed an enormous burden on Somers schools, roads, water quality, and overall community character, costs that would have been shouldered by Somers taxpayers offsetting any gains in terms of Town revenue.

Yes, it is true that the Town will be foregoing such future revenue. [Ed. Note: the New York City DEP will continue to pay property taxes on the 269 acres it will own as part of the deal]. However, it is typically the case that such developments cost more than they pay in tax revenue. This development would have required increased policing, fire protection, road maintenance. It would have placed a significant burden on Somers' schools and forever altered the character of this most historic and rural section of the town.

What assurances do we have that the land will remain protected?

The Eagle River property, aside from the possible construction of a community center and ballfield or two on the Town's 15-acre parcel, will not be developed in any way. Such development will be forbidden by the terms of the agreements and the resulting conservation easements that will surround the purchase. These terms will be legally binding and in perpetuity.

This document was prepared for the Somers Town Board by the Somers Open Space Committee Co-chair Michael Barnhart.