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What’s the Issue?
Right now, the Hudson Valley is facing some tough challenges. Housing prices are rising; real estate development is growing fast, and it’s putting a lot of strain on our communities. On top of that, we’re losing important natural spaces, wildlife, and farmland to development.
Local communities need both affordable housing and a healthy environment to thrive.
A Community Preservation Fund (CPF) is a way for New York’s towns, villages, and cities to preserve the things that make each community special. Money from a fee on home sales within a community that has opted into a CPF program goes into a local fund that the municipality can use to preserve farms, forests, historical buildings, open spaces, and other ecologically important environments.
And then there’s the Community Housing Fund (CHF), which helps raise money for affordable housing options for people who live in the community. It works using the same idea as the CPF, but the focus is on making sure everyone can find an affordable place to live.
Setting up a CPF isn’t an easy task. It requires a lot of collaboration between local governments and community members, and must be approved by voters in a local election (democracy in action!). But more and more communities in the Hudson Valley are stepping up to take advantage of these two opportunities to protect what makes their home unique and ensure that people can afford to keep calling it home. Over the last five years, five Hudson Valley municipalities have passed CPFs with strong voter support.
What’s Our Vision?
As the population in the Hudson Valley grows, it’s important to preserve the diverse landscapes and historical character that make our region special in the first place.
In addition to advocating for state and local policies that promote affordable housing options for the people who live and work in the region, communities can also adopt a CPF to protect open spaces, farmland, and other natural resources beneficial to health and well-being. Scenic Hudson and other organizations offer support and education to local leaders and community members who wish to take advantage of the opportunity.
Unfortunately, it is difficult for most communities to establish CPFs as a result of current law. Each community seeking to put a CPF in place must receive individual authorization from the State. Our goal is to make this easier.
What’s the Status?
Scenic Hudson, in partnership with the Hudson Valley Alliance for Housing and Conservation, has been working to advance two bills at the state level that would expand CPF (A3533) and CHF (S752/A331) authorization to all cities and towns in New York State other than New York City.
Municipalities in the following counties are already authorized (by the Hudson Valley Community Preservation Act) to establish a Community Preservation Fund:
- Westchester County
- Putnam County
- Ulster County
A few towns outside of those counties also have independent authority to establish a CPF:
- Town of Fishkill, Dutchess County (expires in 2027)
- Town of Northeast, Dutchess County (expires in 2028)
To date, there are seven Hudson Valley communities that have Community Preservation Funds:
- The Towns of Red Hook and Warwick led the way as early adopters in 2006.
- The Town of New Paltz passed the measure in 2020 with over 70% of voter support from the community.
- The Towns of Gardiner and Marbletown, neighbors of New Paltz, followed in 2022.
- The Town of Chatham passed the local ballot measure in 2023 with almost 70% voter approval.
- The City of Kingston in 2024.
Outside of the Hudson Valley, the Peconic Bay Region Community Preservation Fund was established by voter referendum in 1998, and applies to the five East End Towns of Long Island (East Hampton, Riverhead, Shelter Island, Southampton, and Southold). In 2022, voters in East Hampton, Shelter Island, Southampton, and Southold approved an additional 0.5% real estate transfer tax to establish a Community Housing Fund.
To learn more about getting started, check out the Where to Begin guide.
Know the Lingo
Ballot measure
A question submitted to voters for their approval.
Hudson Valley Community Preservation Act (CPA)
Passed in 2007, the CPA authorizes designated communities to establish funds to protect environmental assets that are at risk or endangered due to local development pressures. Funded by a fee on home sales, within a community that has voted to establish a local CPF, the proceeds can be used to preserve parks, recreational areas, nature preserves, open space, agricultural lands, exceptional scenic views, aquifer recharge areas, beachfront and shorelines, wetlands, wildlife refuges, waterways and river areas, forest land, and historic places and properties.
Peconic Bay Region Community Preservation Fund (CPF)
The Peconic Bay Region CPF is a public program managed by each of the five East End Towns for the protection of farmland, open space, and community character. The CPF was established by voter referendum in 1998, when voters in the five East End Towns of Long Island — East Hampton, Riverhead, Shelter Island, Southampton and Southold — approved a new real estate transfer tax of 2% on each transaction occurring in these towns. This is a one-time tax that the buyer is required to pay when purchasing improved or vacant property.
STAY INFORMED
Become a Valley Defender to get updates on this issue and other ways to protect the land, air, and water in your community.
What can you do now?
LEARN more in the WHERE TO BEGIN guide
VIEW the PRESENTATION to the Rhinebeck Town Board
EMAIL Carli Fraccarolli, Government Relations Manager at Scenic Hudson, if you live in the Hudson Valley and are interested in learning more
READ about CONSERVATION FINANCING, including the CPF, from Cornell’s Department of Natural Resources and the Environment. LEARN MORE about the work of the Hudson Valley Alliance for Housing and Conservation.
ADD YOUR VOICE! We bring the voices of the Hudson Valley directly to the decision makers and policy makers shaping our future.