A key part of the DWSP2 plan development process is to identify protection and management methods that a community can use to achieve the goal of source water protection. These methods can be a mix of non-regulatory approaches, such as best management practices and public education, or regulatory approaches including land use planning and control techniques and Intermunicipal Agreements which are the focus of this newsletter.

The newsletter contains links to several land use training videos that you can watch via YouTube. These webinars are a no-cost option to learn more about how these valuable tools can help your community protect its source of drinking water.

Land Use and Source Water Protection Training Module

Land use planning and land use controls may arguably be some of the most significant tools a municipality has at their disposal when it comes to protecting their source of drinking water. We expect as more Drinking Water Source Protection Program (DWSP2) Plans are developed across the state, most if not all will include at least one land use technique in their implementation strategy.

So, you may wonder, what are these techniques? How are they used? Or who has the authority to develop them and how will they benefit our drinking water source?

Hudson Valley Regional Council and Pace Land Use Law Center

To help answer these questions, one of our DWSP2 technical assistance providers,
Hudson Valley Regional Council, recently partnered with Pace Land Use Law Center to create a land use training module to explain the legal authority local governments have when it comes to protecting the source of their drinking water through various land use techniques.

Professor John R. Nolon from Pace Land Use Law Center led the training module. He is the founder of, and counsel to, the Law School’s Land Use Law Center and a professor at Pace. He served as Adjunct Professor of land use law and policy at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies from 2001-2016.

Jennie Nolon is senior staff attorney and urban program specialist at the land use law center and is adjunct professor at Pace University’s Elizabeth Haub School of Law where she teaches land use and urban planning. She works closely with communities, non-governmental organizations (NGO)s, and state agencies to address obstacles to redevelopment and sustainability.

Joined by Chana Friedenberg from HVRC, Professor John Nolon and Jennie Nolon guide listeners through each of the three sections of the training module outlined below, interacting with community members along the way as they shared their thoughts, questions, and concerns. Click on each of the titles below to view that session of the training module.

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Introduction and Governance 101

Pace provides a brief introduction of the federal, state, county and local authority for source water protection. The audience learns what authority local governments have through home rule and land uses to protect sources of drinking water.

WATCH NOW »

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Land Use Techniques

Following Governance 101, Pace takes the audience through the various land use techniques a community can utilize to protect their source of drinking water. These include items such as comprehensive planning, zoning, critical environmental areas, and more.

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Intermunicipal Cooperation

Finishing up the training module is protecting watersheds through intermunicipal cooperation or agreement. Not sure what an Intermunicipal Agreement (IMA) is? No worries, Pace breaks it down and points to the Village and Town laws allowing communities to have IMAs and why your community should consider forming one. They also include a number of successful IMAs, with one existing for more than 25 years!

WATCH NOW »

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Town of Shawangunk Critical Environmental Area designated to protect a water supply. 

In addition to the presentation, there are two supporting resource guides that communities may find useful following the presentation:

• Understanding and Protecting Drinking Source Water
• Land Use Strategies for Protecting Drinking Source Water

The second resource guide, Land Use Strategies for Protecting Drinking Water, includes examples of municipalities that utilized the various land use techniques Pace presented on to protect their community’s drinking water source.

A sign from Long Island Sound stating "Don't dump. This creek flows to LI Sound"

Looking for more land use trainings and resources? Keep scrolling to see what other regional planning boards have to offer!

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Additional Land Use Trainings to Protect Your Water

There are a number of publicly available resources you and your community can view or participate in to learn more about land use. While the following resources may not be specific to source water, your community may find them useful as they include a general overview of the practice, items to consider, “how-to guides” and more.

The webinars below were organized by two DWSP2 technical assistance providers, Capital District Regional Planning Commission and Southern Tier West Regional Planning & Development Board. Contact your local regional council as they may have other trainings that can protect your source water.

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Comprehensive Plans: Gaining a Competitive Advantage for Your Community

Host: Capital District Regional Planning Commission

Presenter: MRB Group

Overview: Many communities do not have a strong, practical and useful comprehensive plan. MRB Group’s SmarterlocalGov team works to strengthen municipal leaders and teams, and advocates planning practices as a community-building process. This webinar will discuss why a comprehensive plan is beneficial, what’s inside a good comprehensive plan, and how it can affect your community’s ability to succeed. MRB Group also shares tools they utilize in planning processes that can be extremely useful in a number of municipal activities.

WATCH NOW »

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Zoning: An Introduction

Host: Southern Tier West

Presenter: Department of State

Overview: Zoning, a land use regulation, can be one of the most meaningful legislative action a local governing board can take. There are some misconceptions about zoning, such as being overreaching, and this training dispels those myths. The webinar explains what is zoning, why to enact zoning, why some communities may not want to enact zoning, and the various land use tools under zoning.

WATCH NOW »

 

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Re-writing and Changing Zoning Laws

Host: Southern Tier West

Presenter: MRB Group

Overview: Review the process to re-write and change zoning laws in your community. This one-hour webinar goes over what zoning ordinances are, how zoning can protect land values, why it is important, the regulatory zoning framework, the revision and regulatory framework, and more.

WATCH NOW »

We will continue to highlight land use webinars and tools as we become aware of them.

Are you a not-for-profit (land trust) looking to assist counties and municipalities with their agricultural and farmland protection efforts? Good news, New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets has a grant program for you!

Funding is currently available to support local agricultural and farmland protection goals by providing funds to cover the appraisal costs for landowners considering the sale or donation of development rights on viable agricultural lands.

Total funding available for this grant program is $500,000. Applications are due Friday, June 24th at 4:00 PM. For more information and to apply, visit grants gateway.