Protectng a Natural Legacy: Scenc Hudson, Inc. and the Hudson Rver Valley Seth McKee ts From source at Lake Tear of the Clouds n the Adrondack Mountans of upper New York State, the Hudson Rver flows over 300 mles to ts mouth n New York Harbor, where t emptes nto the Atlantc Ocean. Along the way, t flows past a wealth of dverse landscapes: rollng farmland, rustc, ndustral rver towns, mountan ranges of strkng geology, ecologcally-sgnfcant tdal wetlands, and fnally New York Cty. For over half the length of ths journey, the Hudson s tdal, and as a major estuary, the rver contans marne, bracksh, and freshwater habtats. Ths dversty of landscapes and natural habtats has ntrgued resdents and vstors for centures, and has been the scene of hstorc events, extensve commerce, spectacular artstry, and everyday nspraton. It has also posed a challenge to planners and conservatonsts throughout the Hudson Valley-how to safeguard ts natural attrbutes n the face of consderable long-term development pressures, whle accommodatng nevtable growth and development n a manner that s compatble wth ths natural hertage. Ths challenge s faced by many regons across the naton and the world, but s ntensfed by certan attrbutes specfc to the Hudson Valley. The New York metropoltan area has lttle room to grow n drectons other than the Hudson Valley, due to near buld-out condtons n other suburbs of the regon. Indeed, the Hudson Valley may represent the New York metropoltan area's last fronter n terms ofdevelopment. Despte these pressures, current economc hard tmes have not spared the Hudson Valley. The ndustral base of the area s shrnkng, wth General Motors closng ts plant n North Tarrytown, and major regonal employers such as IBM announcng plans for restructurng and 'Voluntary attrton." Seth McKee s Land Projects Manager for Scenc Hudson, Inc. n Poughkeepse, NY. He receved a masters n Regonal Plannngfrom UNC-Chapel Hll n 1991. The ndustral legacy of the rver has brought about other problems. Frst, the rver was tradtonally the ste ofwater-dependent ndustry, whch used the Hudson as an nexpensve, relable source of transportaton. The result has been a legacy of ndustral locaton on the rver. Ths pattern of ndustral development contnues n the present, despte the lack of truly water-dependent ndustres. Ths has degraded many of the Hudson's natural attrbutes and has lmted publc access to the rverfront. Second, hstorc ndustral actvty along the rver haunts ts current resdents. In the 1940s, 50s and 60s the General Electrc Corporaton bured toxc PCBs n the rver's sedments. Current health standards recommend aganst consumpton of most fsh speces caught n the Hudson, due to the presence of PCBs whch are lnked to cancer and neurologcal problems. Ths has had a dsastrous mpact on the regon's fshng ndustry, whch now must lmt ts catch to speces that resde n the Hudson for short perods of tme. Fnally, over 35 percent of the Hudson's rverfront towns and vllages lack any publc means of accessng the rver, such as parks, boat launches and trals. For many resdents of the Hudson Rver Valley, the rver s smply somethng to be crossed on the way to somewhere else, despte the strong regonal dentty that t fosters. Those communtes wthout rver access also lose tourst dollars to towns and vllages that offer opportuntes for recreaton along the rver. The Response Many local governments have been tryng to address these problems, through parkland acquston, zonng and subdvson regulatons, agrcultural dstrcts, and envronmental mpact reportng requrements. As s true everywhere, some local governments are more dlgent, capable, and have more resources and poltcal wll than others. Many local planners and muncpal offcals
34 CAROLINA PLANNING ^ ^-1 I \Ay< ^- _ ---*- ALBANY # f, ALBANY H COUNTY ( 1 M # TROY W RENSSELAE COUNTY \,- ''"' ^-^"^ 1 GREENE COUNTY ^ ^F CATSKILL ^ 0? >-- 1 If KINCSTON # H % COLUMBIA P COUNTY HUDSON ^ DUTCHESS COUNTY ULSTER H COUNTY B, POUCHKEEPSIE \ \ n B. BEACOW _. "~"" NEWBURCH ^ Bt ^- a_ I : => H C S A S A M (. < - = u 1 :. ' ^ PUTNAM COUNTY 1 ORANGE -1 COUNTY J^ 1 \ \_ \ m # PEEKSKILL ak WESTCHEST * %\ \ Tg COUNTY + ^*"». ROCKLAND \ COUNTY NEW JERSEY *» >. 20 Ml I S Map otfe Lower Hudson Rver Valley \ 1 TARRYTOWh NEW YORK CITY _J C E N N O C ^nf' strve to ncrease publc access and lmt development n senstve rverfront areas. Often, however, local governments are short-staffed and lack the fnancal resources to fully cope wth the problem. Gven the decrease n federal and state ad to local governments over the past decade, ncreasng the local tax base s an understandable prorty. Ths drves local governments to look more kndly on prvate waterfront development proposals and to sometmes overlook negatve envronmental and fscal effects they may brng. Local not-for-proft groups have been quck to respond to the lack of local government resources. There are many such groups n the Hudson Valley: Scenc Hudson; Hudson Rver Sloop Clearwater, whch montors rverfront development and provdes hands-on rver envronmental educaton for ctzens; the Open Space Insttute, whch acqures land n fee and va easements for trals and publc parkland n the valley and elsewhere; and many local land trusts and ctzens groups wth an nterest n the protecton of land or rver frontage. In addton, several natonal not-for-proft organzatons mantan an actve nterest n the Hudson Valley, such as The Nature Conservancy, whch protects sgnfcant habtat and plant and anmal speces, and The Trust for Publc Land, whch purchases land for publc parks. Scenc Hudson: Its Hstory and Mandate Scenc Hudson was born out of one of the defnng controverses of the envronmental movement n the Unted States-the battle to preserve Storm Kng, a massve, regal-lookng bare mountan at the northern reaches of the Hudson Hghlands near Newburgh, New York. In 1963, the New York Cty utlty company Consoldated Edson proposed the constructon of a pumped storage faclty on the slopes of Storm Kng. Ths alarmed many people who were concerned about the mpact such a development would have on the mountan, and on the precedent t would set for development n other senstve, hstorc or otherwse valuable areas. Storm Kng symbolzed the regonal dentty created by the Hudson-majestc, hstorc, yeldng to no human. Sustaned opposton over a decade by a coalton of envronmentalsts, hstorans and recreaton enthusasts halted Con Edson's plans and convnced a generaton of New Yorkers that ctzen actvsm could accomplsh the goals of envronmental conservaton. One of the leaders n the fght was the Scenc Hudson Preservaton Conference, a group formed n response to the threat to Storm Kng. The group soon became known as Scenc Hudson and attracted the support of many resdents of both the Hudson Valley and the New York metropoltan area. Over tme, the group focused ts efforts on montorng development trends n the Hudson Valley and acquston of sgnfcant parcels of rverfront land for conveyance to government agences. Today, Scenc Hudson has a full-tme staff of 17, and works n three major program areas: land preservaton, waterfront development, and envronmental montorng. Its land preservaton dvson works drectly wth
VOLUME 18 NUMBER 1 35 landowners, local governments, ctzens groups and the State of New York to protect land wth outstandng scenc, natural resource, hstorc or recreatonal value. Waterfront development specalsts provde techncal assstance and advce to local governments n the Hudson Valley, and advocate publc access to the rver and envronmentally senstve development. Envronmental specalsts montor water qualty, water use, and ndustral mpacts on the rver, promote watershed protecton and water conservaton, and lobby for polces at all levels of government that wll result n a clean Hudson Rver. Ths artcle focuses on the approaches and technques used by Scenc Hudson n the areas of land preservaton and waterfront development. The Hudson Valley: The Next Fronter It s useful to look at the work of Scenc Hudson n the context of development trends n the New York Cty metropoltan area, n the Hudson Valley, and n the state of New York as a whole. The Hudson Valley s the least developed subregon n the New York Cty MSA. Suburbs to the east (Long Island) and west (New Jersey) of the cty are nearly bult-out, as are the portons of the Hudson Valley closest to the cty, such as southern Westchester County. There s lterally nowhere else for New York Cty-generated urban sprawl to go, other than further nto the Hudson Valley. The rate of growth n the Hudson Valley has slowed snce the onset ofthe current recesson, whch has ht the northeastern U.S. partcularly hard. IBM's troubles cause many n the Hudson Valley to feel nsecure about the regon's economc future. Despte the economc downturn, development pressures reman. "Developers are contnung to work ther projects through the approval mll, so that they'll be ready to go when the economy turns around," says Scenc Hudson's Assocate Drector Carol Sondhemer. They contnue to show a strong nterest n rverfront property for resdental, commercal and ndustral uses. "It s a mark of the allure of the rver that developers contnue to mantan a healthy nterest n stng projects there," says Sondhemer. Another factor whch wll undoubtedly nfluence the regonal economy of the Hudson Valley s the mmnent expanson of Stewart Arport, a heretofore small, regonal faclty n Newburgh. Tentatve plans are for an ncrease n passenger servce by several hundred percent and the creaton of seven mllon square feet of cargo facltes by the year 2000. Ths expanson wll consume approxmately 8,000 acres of undeveloped buffer lands. Whether the net mpact of ths expanson on the local economy wll be ether postve or negatve s the subject of current debate. Many people beleve ths expanson wll result n the de facto creaton of a fourth metropoltan arport for New York Cty. Combned wth a proposed hgh-speed ral wth Albany, system lnkng New York Cty the expanson of Stewart Arport wll undoubtedly accelerate the decentralzaton of the New York metropoltan area nto the Hudson Valley. Long-term development along the Hudson Rver has caused losses of tdal wetlands and other sgnfcant rverne habtat, publc access for recreatonal and aesthetc purposes, and natural characterstcs due to ncompatble land uses. All of these are areas of concern for Scenc Hudson. Scenc Hudson: Land Preservaton The land protecton efforts of Scenc Hudson focus on the acquston of nterests n land that represents a valuable publc resource, ether for ts natural valuewetlands, sgnfcant trbutares, and contguous forest stands-scenc beauty, hstorc sgnfcance, or potental for meanngful publc access. Scenc Hudson promotes the wse use of land resources n ways that both protect the natural envronment and enhance the qualty of lfe of rverfront communtes. A balance s also sought between long-range plannng for resource protecton and respondng to opportuntes as they arse n the prvate land market. Scenc Hudson's land preservaton actvtes are conducted through ts subsdary corporaton, The Scenc Hudson Land Trust (SHLT). SHLT generally "preacqures" senstve land from a prvate landowner for eventual conveyance to a publc entty, such as the state, county or local government. Lke most not-for-proft land trusts, SHLT operates on the premse that t can brnga degree of flexblty, responsveness, and creatvty to land protecton that publc agences generally cannot. Gven lmted funds, lmted staff resources, strngent project revew and approval processes, and that ever-present monkey wrench called poltcs, publc agences are often unable to respond quckly enough when an opportunty to protect a parcel of sgnfcant land arses. Land trusts lke SHLT can often strke a deal before the landowner gets frustrated by the red tape and fundng obstacles nvolved n transfers of land nto publc ownershp. The affluence that New York Cty spns off keeps the prce of real estate along the Hudson Rver hgh, especally n ts southern reaches. Prces for developable rverfront land along the Hudson n early 1992 ranged Populaton Growth Trends n New York State 1980-1990 Regon Growth Rate New York State 2.5% Hudson Valley 1 3.9% Westchester County 1.0% Orange County 18.5% Source: A Hudson Rver Valley Greenway, February 1 991, from The New York Tmes, January 25, 1 991
36 CAROLINA PLANNING Nutten Hook. One generaton's dredge spol s another's future rverfront park. from $5,000 to $60,000 per acre, wth the hghest values found n Westchester and other southern Hudson Valley countes, as well as n ctes and towns n the md- Hudson area. These prces make t dffcult for not-forproft land trusts, whch rely on the donatons of members, supporters and, to some degree, corporate sponsors to compete wth prvate developers for senstve or notable land. The Scenc Hudson Land Trust, however, s a benefcary of a prvately created fund for the conservaton of land n the Hudson Rver corrdor. Ths fund makes t possble for SHLT (hereafter referred to as Scenc Hudson) to protect land n ths hgh-prced real estate market. A recent development has made t mpossble, at least for the moment, for land trusts such as Scenc Hudson to acqure land for conveyance to the State ofnew York. In November 1990, the voters of New York State narrowly voted down the Envronmental Qualty Bond Act (EQBA) of 1990, whch proposed the ssuance of $2 bllon n bonds by the state for envronmental projects, $800 mllon of whch was specfcally earmarked for state land acquston. Ths came as a surprse to many, because pror EQBAs n 1972 and 1986 had enjoyed wdespread publc support. It would seem that wth the recesson n full swng, a narrow majorty of voters, prmarly n less urbanzed areas, perceved land conservaton to be a luxury reserved for better economc tmes. Thus Scenc Hudson and other land trusts n New York State cannot at ths tme rely on state government to be the ultmate buyer of land that they frst acqure. Ths has forced the organzaton to look at creatve ways to protect land wthout bearng the burden ofday-to-day stewardshp. One opton s to acqure the land and then enter nto long-term leases or management agreements wth the state or other publc agences n the hopes of eventual publc acquston. The recent publcaton ofa draft Open Space Conservaton Plan by New York State's Department of Envronmental Conservaton and Offce of Parks, Recreaton and Hstorc Preservaton may help create state fundng for land preservaton. The plan dentfes the Hudson Rver Valley and estuary as a major resource area deservng of actve protecton efforts. It recommends that fundng for open space protecton come from an exstng soda and beer tax, a fee on the sale of automoble tres, andor unclamed beverage deposts. Ifsuch fundng s secured, Scenc Hudson wll once more be able to "pre-acqure" senstve land for the state.
VOLUME 18, NUMBER 1 37 As of Aprl 1992, Scenc Hudson had protected over 1,990 acres of sgnfcant land along the Hudson Rver through fee acquston. Four hundred acres ofths total was the purchase and transfer of Storm Kng Mountan to the state. In addton, Scenc Hudson holds conservaton easements on over 800 acres of land, ncludng lands comprsng portons of the vews from the hstorc Frankln Delano Roosevelt Home and Vanderblt Manson n Hyde Park. Land Preservaton Technques A varety of technques s avalable to land trusts for the protecton ofsgnfcant land. The use ofa partcular approach s dctated by the type of resource beng protected, by the needs of the landowner, and by the resources of the organzaton. Scenc Hudson reles on two dstnct approaches: fee smple acquston (.e. full ownershp of land) and acquston of conservaton easements (.e., ownershp of the development rghts to the land). Fee Smple LandAcquston In general, Scenc Hudson seeks to purchase outrght land whch requres full ownershp n order to protect ts outstandng resource value. For example, fee acquston s often the chosen strategy when dealng wth tdal wetlands, due to the state of flux of natonal and state wetlands protecton laws and to the potental ofwetland property to provde opportuntes for publc research, educaton, and nature apprecaton. Addtonally, large, contguous tracts of woodlands or rver frontage are often protected through fee acquston. They are often most approprate for future conveyance to a publc agency for parkland. Therecan be many ncentves forowners ofrverfront land to sell. The owner may be strugglng wth a heavy property tax burden, due to hgh property values. Lack of developer nterest due to the recesson can make the sale of such land more dffcult. Or, the owner may be a developer havng second thoughts about the vablty of hs or her project, as has been occurrng more frequently n the past year because of local economc condtons. The owner may have an emotonal attachment to the land that s not shared by hs or her chldren, promptng a concern for ts long-term preservaton as open space. Or, the owner may smply be a "land-rch, cash-poor" famly, desrng to convert ts land nto a lqud asset. Due n part to ts flexblty as a prvate not-for-proft corporaton, Scenc Hudson can structure a land acquston to maxmze the advantages to dfferent landowners n dfferent crcumstances. For nstance, f a landowner s concerned about the ncome or captal gans tax mplcatons of a sale of land, Scenc Hudson can structure the deal so that payments occur over a perod of years, resultng n a manageable long-term ncome stream for the seller. Ths can help lmt the seller's ncome and captal gans tax lablty. In addton, a sale to Scenc Hudson that s below the apprased far market value can qualfy as a bargan sale, n whch the dfference between the far market value and the sale prce qualfes as a donaton to a chartable organzaton. Ths donaton s a vald ncome tax deducton for the seller. Sometmes landowners are nterested n the longterm preservaton of ther land, but do not want to gve up ther use and enjoyment of the land durng ther lfetmes. Under these crcumstances, a sale wth a lfe estate agreement s approprate. Ths allows the sale to take place today, but allows the landowners to reman on the property through ther lfetmes. Upon the death(s) of the sellers, full use of the property goes to Scenc Hudson. Ths technque s also called purchase of a remander nterest n the land. Alternatvely, a sale and lease-back can be devsed to allow for occupancy by the seller for a specfed tme perod. Conservaton Easement Acquston Conservaton easements are the desred approach when total ownershp or control of the land s not necessary to protect ts outstandng resource value. For nstance, conservaton easements are approprate for the preservaton ofscenc vewsheds, famly farms, actvely harvested tmberlands, or hstorc archtecture, where conservaton and publc beneft can be realzed merely by contnung current land use practces. A conservaton easement severs the development rghts of the landowner from hs or her bundle of property rghts, leavng the owner wth full ownershp of the land, but wth development restrcted by the terms of the easement. Such easements generally are vald n perpetuty; they run wth the land and are bndng on all future landowners. They can be wrtten flexbly, to accommodate lmted future development n desgnated areas, cluster development, selectve tree cuttng, or other terms mutually agreed upon by the two partes. As a land protecton strategy, the acquston of conservaton easements depends n part on the good fath of the landowner n complyng wth ts terms and on the dlgence of the easement holder n enforcng them. For ths reason, Scenc Hudson obtans baselne data about the resource beng protected through aeral and on-theground photographs and ste vsts. Scenc Hudson has an easement montor on staff who s responsble for assurng complance wth the terms of the easements. There have been only a few volatons to date, and these have been resolved to wthout resortng to legal acton. Scenc Hudson's satsfacton, Scenc Hudson also seeks to acqure rverfront tral easements across prvately owned lands, to provde publc access between publcly owned lands, and to further the creaton ofa greenway stretchng from New York Cty to Albany on both sdes of the rver. An example of ths s the Hyde Park Tral lnkng the Frankln Delano Roosevelt Home wth the Vanderblt Estate, both federallyowned hstorc stes. The tral was created n part by Scenc Hudson through the acquston of a tral ease-
38 CAROLINA PLANNING ment across the property of a prvate landowner. In ths stuaton, acquston of the land n fee was mpractcal and unnecessary due to the nature of the resource beng protected, a narrow access path between two propertes. Conservaton easements are generally acqured n two ways: donaton or purchase. Purchased easements are at the heart of publc purchase-of-developmentrghts schemes, such as the successful and much-publczed program n Montgomery County, Maryland. Scenc Hudson generally tres to encourage the donaton of conservaton easements, agan usng ts chartable status as an ncentve to landowners, but has on occason purchased development rghts to sgnfcant property. Both purchased and donated easements can reduce landowners' property taxes. In theory, by severng the rght to unrestrcted development of the land from ts bundle of property rghts, the far market value of the land s decreased from ts "hghest and best use" to ts current use value or potental use value under the terms of the easement. Local assessors should take ths nto consderaton n assessng such propertes. Snce there s no statewde requrement that they do ths, however, the assessment of easement-restrcted property s nconsstent busness. Some assessors are not famlar wth easements, or suspect they wll be used by landowners to evade property taxes. It s mperatve that local governments concerned wth conservaton of senstve land resources educate ther assessors about valuatons of easements. Scenc Hudson staff try to encourage the ncorporaton of easement values nto land assessments through provdng nformaton to landowners about easement valuaton. Conservaton easements can also be used to reduce estate taxes, the tax that s leved at the tme of the transfer of property through nhertance. Many "landrch, cash-poor" famles face the prospect of a combned federal and state estate tax of up to 55 percent of the value of the property. 2 Ths wll an often force the landowner to sell or subdvde the property to make the payment of ths tax. If the land s subsequently developed, the natural or publc resource s lost forever. By lowerng the far market value of the property, a conservaton easement can often lower the estate tax to a level that hers of the property can afford. As a result, the property remans n the famly's hands, and ts resource value s preserved by the terms of the easement. Fnally, a conservaton easement donated to a land trust such as Scenc Hudson can be clamed as a chartable deducton by the owner, and may result n ncome tax savngs. The value of the easement for tax deducton purposes s determned by takng the dfference between the value of the land unencumbered and the value of the land under easement. In order to qualfy for a deducton, however, the easement must meet several strct crtera establshed by the Internal Revenue Servce. These nclude the requrement that the easement provdes publc access to a recreatonal resource, or protects sgnfcant natural habtat, scenc landscapes, productve farmland, or hstorc landscapes or structures. IdentjyngPublcAccess Opportuntes Scenc Hudson seeks to ncrease publc access along the rver over both publc and prvate land. Abandoned ralroad lnes or spurs, power lne rght-of-ways, and unused trals all represent potental for publc access and recreaton. Often the owners may be wllng to sell or even donate these lnear propertes. Formerly underwater lands that are techncally publc property but generally consdered to be owned by adjacent landowners offer ntrgung publc access possbltes. Many parts of the Hudson were dredged durng the 1920s and 1930s to create today's shppng channel. The dredge spol was often dumped along the shore of the rver. Snce the State of New York clams ttle to all land "now or formerly below the mean hgh water mark of the Hudson Rver," these dredge spol deposts are legally publc property. In many places, the spol deposts have evolved to become fully vegetated, lush land masses; prvate landowners have purchased adjacent uplands thnkng they were also buyng the land that s dredge spol. Scenc Hudson was nvolved n a land purchase over the past two years that demonstrates the sgnfcance of these dredge spol deposts. Scenc Hudson ntended to purchase Nutten Hook, a lush pennsula n rural Columba County, and then resell t to the State Department of Envronmental Conservaton for future recreatonal purposes. A survey of the property, however, showed that sgnfcant amounts of land were actually dredge spol deposts. Instead of purchasng ths already publcly-owned land, Scenc Hudson purchased only the hstorc uplands and conveyed them to the state, savng the publc a substantal sum of money. Wth a grant from the Hudson Rver Improvement Fund, Scenc Hudson has undertaken a study to dentfy some of these "formerly underwater lands" along the Hudson. The study wll delneate the extent of dredge spol deposts n a specfed plot area and notfy the state, ttle companes, surveyors and the lke that these lands are actually owned by the State of New York. A number of opportuntes for publc access to the Hudson Rver may be created as a result of ths study. Greenway Plannng At the end of 1991, New York Governor Maro Cuomo sgned nto law a plan to create a Hudson Rver Valley Greenway, a system ofconnected trals and parks along both sdes of the Hudson, stretchng from New York Cty to Albany. The greenway plan s more than a tral system, however; t encourages the Hudson Rver Valley to engage n regonal plannng, to thnk and act lke a regon wth common economc and envronmental nterests, rather than as a collecton of muncpaltes and countes. The Greenway legslaton encourages waterfront revtalzaton, farm preservaton,
VOLUME 18 NUMBER 39 toursm development, master plan and zonng ordnance updates, overlay zonng for waterfront areas, and natural and cultural resource nventores. A Greenway Councl and Conservancy have been establshed to provde techncal assstance n these areas to the varous communtes n the regon. Snce the Greenway plan reles on the voluntary partcpaton of rverfront muncpaltes, t does not threaten the home rule authorty of local government. Incentves for partcpaton nclude preference for state nfrastructure and land acquston fundng and ndemnfcaton of muncpaltes from legal challenges arsng from mplementaton of the greenway. Scenc Hudson s helpng communtes to plan and create projects related to the greenway. Ths ncludes assstance n tral-creaton, usng the above-mentoned land preservaton technques; assstance wth grant proposal wrtng; and provson of nformaton and advce on nnovatve zonng devces, such as waterfront overlay zones, to promote compatble land use practces n the greenway area. Waterfront Development Scenc Hudson works n partnershp wth local and county governments to promote sound plannng practces along the Hudson rverfront. Its goal s to mtgate vsual mpacts of new constructon along the rver, preserve the ntegrty of the rver's shorelne by protectng t from haphazard and napproprate development, and create publc access opportuntes wthn prvate rverfront developments. Ths s done both proactvely, by provdng local governments wth nformaton on creatve zonng and plannng technques, and reactvely, by revewng development proposals, ste plans, ordnances and master plans, provdng nput at publc hearngs and scopng sessons, and workng drectly wth developers to mtgate negatve mpacts on the rverfront. Waterfront development specalsts at Scenc Hudson espouse a number of and tmng constructon to occur at tmes of the year when t s least lkely to dsturb senstve natural processes. A second prncple s that non-water dependent ndustry should not be located on the rver. "In the past, much of the ndustry on the rver was truly waterdependent," says Scenc Hudson waterfront specalst Ellen Hang. "Busnesses depended on shps and the ralroad [whch runs along the Hudson] for transportaton." Today ths s no longer the case. The truckng ndustry, enabled by the nterstate hghway system, s the predomnant transporter of commercal goods. The problem remans, however, that many localtes have not gotten around to changng the ndustral zonng along ther waterfronts. "Ths," accordng to Hang, "permts non-water-dependent, often noxous and vsually ntrusve ndustral facltes to contnue to locate along the rver. The challenge s to encourage local governments to modfy the zonng along ther waterfronts to reflect the wonderful recreatonal resources that these areas can and should be." Scenc Hudson encourages local governments to update ther zonng. It also opposes specfc ndustral projects, such as recent proposals for the Cty of Yonkers waterfront nvolvng sludge processng and electrcty cogeneraton. Scenc Hudson and other local ctzen's groups mantan that these actvtes are not water-dependent and should be located n non-senstve areas away from the rver. The provson of publcaccess n prvate development s a thrd development prncple. Well-desgned publc access walkways have an amenty value that can enhance sound plannng prncples. The frst s that modfcatons can be made to rverfront development proposals to make them less obtrusve on the natural envronment. On specfc development proposals, Scenc Hudson advocates and encourages heght and densty lmtatons, the use of earth-tone colors n constructon materals, adequate setbacks from the rver's edge, cluster development, the provson of natural open space n prvate developments, lmtng the ntruson of development nto senstve rver habtats, Waterfront development n Kngston, NY lackng adequate setbacks and publc access.
40 CAROLINA PLANNING located away from the rver. Scenc Hudson encourages local governments to nclude publc access stpulatons n the sale of publc rverfront land to prvate developers. It also presses for publc access provsons n rezonng pettons that affect the waterfront. Fnally, Scenc Hudson promotes the message that open space costs less n terms of muncpal servces than prvate resdental development. Ths argues aganst the percepton that prvate development wll always have a net postve effect on the tax base of communtes through the provson of ra tables. In a study ofseveral waterfront communtes n the Hudson Valley, Scenc Hudson found that open land, n the form of farmland and parks, cost these communtes an average of38 cents n servces Resdental Development at HalfMoon Bay the sales potental of prvate resdental development along the waterfront. Good desgn allays the potental for problems, such as vandalsm and loss of the resdents' sense of securty. Scenc Hudson has publshed a gude to local governments enttled Integratng Publc Access wth Development: Prvate The Two Can Mx, whch promotes a varety of technques for effectve provson of publc access. These nclude grade separatons between prvate resdences and communty open space; boardwalks that enhance the feelng of separaton between the publc pathway and prvate resdences; use of landscapng as a natural barrer (shrubs, trees, lagoons, natural rses or depressons); vertcal separaton through mxed uses (e.g., resdental unts over retal space); and desgnaton ofpublc use hours, enforced by gates andor guards. To date, there are few examples along the Hudson of effectve provson of publc access n prvate development. At Half Moon Bay at Croton-on-Hudson, the developer provded a four-foot wde publc tral n response to requests by Scenc Hudson and the vllage, but there s vrtually no separaton between the publc and prvate uses. Part of the problem s that the buldngs are so close to the rver that lttle room exsts for separaton of uses. In addton, the tral does not really lead anywhere, resultng n nfrequent use. Ths s a good argument for both sound desgn practces and the creaton of the Hudson Rver Valley Greerway, whch wll attempt to lnk these ndvdual segments nto meanngful trals wth real destnatons. A more promsng project s the Waterfront at Fshkll, a mxed use development project located on a pennsula n the Hudson and on connectng uplands. It wll ultmately nvolve over 1,000 resdental unts, a shoppng center and a waterfront restaurant. At Scenc Hudson's urgng, a 30-foot wde publc access tral wll run across the pennsula's waterfront, and all land uses on the pennsula wll be generally publc-orented, water-dependent, and recreatonal. All the housng unts wll be needed for every dollar t brought n through property taxes. Resdental development, by contrast, cost the same communtes an average of $1.19 for every dollar generated through taxes. Where t s approprate and affects rverfront land, Scenc Hudson promotes these fndngs at publc hearngs. Concluson Waterfront development along the Hudson Rver s a dynamc process affected by the regon's hstory, economy and natural attrbutes. Prvate developers are understandably attracted to the Hudson, due to ts prestge, scenc amentes, and proxmty to New York Cty. The challenge facng planners and conservatonsts s how to accommodate nevtable and desrable economc development wthout kllng the goose that lad the golden egg. Scenc Hudson s but one example of how the local, not-for-proft sector can assst publc agences n protectng senstve rverfront lands, provde meanngful publc access to the rver, and promote sustanable, senstve economc development that enhances regonal qualty of lfe. Ths partnershp s both necessary and desrable n these tmes of lmted publc fnancal resources. Whle the Hudson Valley s unque n some ways, n terms of ts ndustral hstory and proxmty to one of the largest, most populous ctes n the world, Scenc Hudson's approach could be equally useful n other regons wth sgnfcant waterfronts. Essental to the success of ths approach are an organzed and confdent ctzenry, creatve fund-rasng, and a recognton that communcaton and partnershp between state and local governments and not-for-proft groups can yeld greater results than ether workng alone, cp Notes ^The Hudson Valley s defned here as the ten -county area comprsng the followng countes between New York Cty and Albany over 150 mles to the north: on the east sde of the rver, Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Columba, and Rensselaer; on the west sde of the rver, Rockland, Orange, Ulster, Greene, and Albany. ^Stephen J. Small, Preservng Famly Lands, 1988.