Should Put Valley Adopt its Natural Resources Inventory?

By Holly Crocco

The Town of Putnam Valley has a Natural Resource Inventory that is eight years old but was never officially adopted.

During the Sept. 16 Putnam Valley Town Board meeting, Ted Warren, public policy manager for the Hudson Highlands Land Trust, explained that the organization helped the town draft its NRI in 2018.

“A Natural Resource Inventory compiles and describes important, naturally occurring resources in a municipality, such as forest, streams, wildlife habitat, soils, and bedrock geology,” he said. “NRIs also include cultural resources, such as agriculture, historical, scenic, and recreational assets.”

An advisory council may create such a document under general municipal law.

“The NRI is primarily a reference document that municipalities can use to inform their land-use decisions, comprehensive planning, and land-use laws,” said Warren. “When combined with community input and further analysis, an NRI provides a foundation for setting open space priorities and an open space inventory or plan, and informing local conservation policies.”

This “reference document” doesn’t create any requirements or restrictions, but can be an important tool to municipalities regarding planning in the short and long term.

“It not being adopted means it’s not as meaningful or it’s not as important a factor in terms of guiding the town’s decision making, in terms of land use,” said Warren.

He explained that the town can either pass a resolution to adopt NRI, incorporate it into the comprehensive plan – which the town is updating, or it can be adopted as local law. The latter option holds the most weight.

“It’s a good quality NRI. It was created before my time at HHLT, but I’ve been over it, I’ve been through it,” said Warren. “I think it deserves to not be on a shelf collecting dust. I think it deserves to be more of a living document that the town refers to and uses to its benefit.”

While Putnam Valley’s inventory is “long in the tooth,” per Warren – who said most are updated every five to 10 years – it’s still applicable.

“Most of that NRI is still going to be relevant today,” he said, noting that the document can be adopted and still updated in the future.

Some new priorities that could be added are things related to climate resilience and areas that flood, such as streambeds, hollows, and culverts where water backs up, because that’s changed in the last five years.

“The 100-year flood plans have become 25-year flood plans,” said Warren.

He said these things should be accounted for because if an applicant goes before the planning board and wants to build by an area that is known to flood, the town can then inquire about runoff and impervious surfaces.

These NRIs are also beneficial to municipalities pursuing grant funding for various projects because the state – or whoever is issuing the funds – can see there’s a plan and/or priorities, and know the town will use the money effectively.

Councilman CJ Brooks agreed that the document is worth memorializing.

“When it comes to being able to get funding… there’s a process, and to be able to get things moved up the chain in Albany you have to be able to show that your town is about the thing that you’re trying to push for,” he said. “Having something like an NRI can do that.”

“I’ve been in favor, since day one, of adopting the NRI,” added Town Supervisor Alison Jolicoeur.

Former town supervisor and county legislator Sam Oliverio Jr. suggested the board adopt the NRI, since it’s working on the comprehensive plan and the two go hand-in-hand.