NEW PALTZ -- As the Ulster County Legislature roils with some of its most
partisan debate in years, one issue is bridging the political divide: open
space preservation. The issue has caused county lawmakers to cast years of
partisan bickering aside -- starting on Feb. 12, when all Democrats and
most Republicans voted for a plan to protect green areas.
It's the county's first such plan since the 1970s -- the last decade in
which Democrats controlled the Legislature.
''This is the first step,'' said Legislator Hector Rodriguez, D-New Paltz,
hoping the county's 33 lawmakers will continue to cooperate on
environmental planning.
After decades of GOP dominance, redistricting led voters last year to send
17 Republicans and 16 Democrats to the Legislature. Since then, traditional
partisan infighting has intensified.
A new dynamic
''The closeness in the Legislature changes the dynamic,'' said political
scientist Gerald Benjamin, dean of Arts and Sciences at the State
University of New York at New Paltz. ''The 17th person has a very large
percentage of the power.''
Resolutions require 17 votes to take effect.
The feud came to a head last week. With two Republicans absent, the 16
Democrats blocked virtually all proposals from passage. Several legislators
walked out before the Democrats lifted the roadblock near midnight.
Benjamin, a former chairman of the Legislature, said the lesson to
Republicans is clear: ''If you have a narrow majority, you have to get your
people there. There's no margin for error.''
Rodriguez said the numerical balance can be a recipe for cooperation.
''When it comes to getting things done, I think you're going to see
legislators more willing to cross the aisle,'' he said. ''It's issue by
issue.''
He reached across the aisle to craft and introduce February's open-space
resolution with Saugerties Republican Joe Roberti. There were 28 votes cast
in favor.
Four southern Ulster GOP incumbents -- including Majority Whip Glenn Noonan
of Gardiner and Legislature Chairman Richard Gerentine of Marlboro -- cast
the lone dissenting votes.
Gerentine said he objected to the process for preservation, not the need to
do it.
''Everyone's in agreement. ... Development's been very rampant. It's
starting to move north,'' he said. ''You have to be prepared.''
He said a county resolution should have awaited better data on where the
preservation needs are greatest. And any available county money should be
used to reduce taxes instead.
The Rodriguez-Roberti resolution, which irked Gerentine by bypassing the
normal committee channels, directs the Legislature's Economic Development
Committee to study the creation of a special fund. This would be for
land-rights purchases and development of new county parks.
And for the first time, Roberti said, it instructs county planning and
conservation officials to take into account bio-diversity, sensitive
wetlands and ecosystems that transcend municipal boundaries, ''like the
Esopus River and the Shawangunk Mountains.''
Changed since 1970s
Since the last plan was adopted in the 1970s, ecology has evolved, said
Seth McKee, director of policy and programs for regional preservation
organization Scenic Hudson.
''Think about how much has changed since then,'' said McKee, praising the
Legislature for recognizing the new opportunities. ''There are so many more
tools that can be brought to bear.''
The February legislation also directs county employees to work with
regional environmental groups and local citizens to identify key parcels
deserving protection.
''The passage of this resolution is a good first step,'' Roberti said. ''I
believe the public expects the Legislature to work together and to do
what's right.''
The bipartisan efforts continued in March with a joint initiative to stall
a controversial development plan aimed at 2,660 hilly acres in and around
Gardiner. The Awosting Reserve project seeks to build hundreds of housing
units on the sensitive mountainside. It is the subject of dispute in state
courts.
Legislators unanimously resolved to defend the natural environment against
the specter of overdevelopment.
Four days later, Democrat Susan Zimet of New Paltz and Republican Glenn
Noonan of Gardiner issued a rare, joint news release to announce the
bipartisan cooperation.
''It not only passed unanimously, but all legislators asked to be included
as sponsors of this bill,'' Zimet said in the release. ''This is big. ...
This is a great step forward.''
Both parties agree development is transforming the physical landscape of
Ulster County.
''Open space has become much more of an up-front issue than it was eight
years ago, six years ago,'' Noonan said. ''Ulster County's growing. Housing
is going up left and right.''
''I think it is great that the county legislators all came together on an
issue of such importance to southern Ulster County,'' added Noonan, the
majority whip.
But Benjamin said partisanship may still be at play. Other Republicans may
jump on the bandwagon rather than conceding an issue traditionally more
aligned with Democrats.
''You don't have consensus, you have political calculation and
accommodation,'' Benjamin said.
Some environmentalists are less cynical.
''It's heartening that it's being widely recognized as an important
issue,'' New Paltz village resident Peter Fairweather said. He's the
official liaison to a new program aimed at sharing bio-diversity
information among municipal planners.
''The more attention that can be brought to it, the better the solutions
will be,'' Fairweather said.
A top priority in New Paltz
Planning for the preservation of open space has been a priority since 2000
for the Town of New Paltz, where Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly
2-to-1. The town's Open Space Committee is scheduled to unveil a final
inventory to the town board next week. The committee hopes to secure
preservation funding next year.
In New Paltz and county-wide, ''the next 10 years are critical,'' said
McKee, who serves as co-chairman of the town committee. ''It's really
critical for protecting open space that you have,'' he added. ''It should
not be a partisan issue.''
Census and other data show Gardiner and New Paltz -- neighboring towns with
breathtaking views of the Shawangunks -- are among the most rapidly
developing towns in the Hudson Valley.
New Paltz's population grew 13 percent from 1990 to 2000. Gardiner's jumped
22 percent.
The Awosting Reserve project alarmed many Ulster County residents, drawing
them to planning board meetings in Gardiner. The project also spawned a new
campaign platform in New Paltz.
Rodriguez and Zimet, a former New Paltz town supervisor, ran last year on a
campaign championing the need to protect the ridge from over-development.
They were elected to represent a Legislature district for New Paltz that
did not exist a year ago, when southern Ulster County was carved into large
Republican-controlled territories.
Rodriguez was a member of the New Paltz town planning board until his
transition to the Legislature in January.
As early as December, he was calling for the county to adopt an open-space
initiative to parallel that of New Paltz.
