Gardiner weighs Community Preservation Plan

Posted 5/17/22

Jean McGrane, chair of the Gardiner Open Space Commission, and former Town Board member David Dukler, made a presentation to the board on the proposed Community Preservation Plan (CPP) at the …

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Gardiner weighs Community Preservation Plan

Posted

Jean McGrane, chair of the Gardiner Open Space Commission, and former Town Board member David Dukler, made a presentation to the board on the proposed Community Preservation Plan (CPP) at the board’s May 3 meeting, Dukler is a CPP volunteer.

Work is currently underway to create a CPP for Gardiner with a public hearing expected in June. If the Town Board adopts the plan, a referendum could go before the voters in November with the question of whether or not to establish a Real Estate Transfer Tax.

If the referendum passes, the transfer tax would go into effect in February 2023 with the revenue accumulating in a Community Preservation Fund. The objective of the fund would be to protect farmland, natural areas and historic structures.

The real estate transfer tax is a levy on property sales representing a small percentage of the purchase price to be paid by the buyer. The Town Board will set the percentage and it will not exceed two percent.

Properties that are below the previous year’s median sale price for Ulster County ($320,000) would be exempt from the tax. The tax would apply only to the amount of the sale price above that median.

For example, if a property sold for $420,000, the tax would apply to the remaining $100,000. At a rate of two percent, the tax on the sale would be a fee of $2,000 to be paid at the closing by the buyer. These fees are eligible to be financed as part of closing costs, spreading that cost over 30 years.

The board also voted 5-0 to approve Bruce Terwilliger as the full-time Building Inspector and Code Enforcement Officer at $39.05 per hour.