July 7, 2000

Town passes Trust & Agency local Law to reflect state Law

Ending months of carrying proposed changes to the existing Trust and Agency Law on the agenda, the Town Board Monday unanimously passed Trust and Agency Local Law #5 which removes the one year restriction for Parks and Recreation to use money from the fund without a time limit. Previous town code stated that funds collected from developers in lieu of land be used that fiscal year for acquisition or improvement of park recreation areas, after which it can only be used for land acquisition. Tabled after a public hearing April 17, the proposed amendment was to remove the one-year restriction and bring the town code in line. Speaking on behalf of the Conservation Commission which had agreed to the lifting of the time limit but wanted the money split 50/50 between recreation and land acquisition, Charles Lawrence said after meeting with town attorneys the Commission agreed to the changes as promised since it would permit any amount of existing money to be spent on a meritorious project that may come along.

Councilwoman Mary Cooke said she was glad there finally was closure on this issue since it had been on the agenda since March. but said that the Town Board until June 19 never had a chance to discuss the issue as a board.

The money for the Fund comes from state town law that permits a town to require a developer to donate land for recreational purposes or to pay money to the town to be held in a trust fund and utilized only for the acquisition or improvement of parks to satisfy the recreation demand generated by new residents of a subdivision. Specific findings of fact are necessary before requiring that land be set aside for recreation or that a fee be paid in lieu thereof, dependent on the existence of proper studies analyzing a community’ s residential facilities and goals and the demand on the recreational facilities generated by a proposed subdivision. Currently, the Trust & Agency Fund has a balance of $54,600 that may be used for recreation or land acquisition.