Friends of Hiddenbrooke
Dedicated to
preserving and expanding open space in the City of Beacon
Friends of Hiddenbrooke formed in February of 2005 to encourage the
City of Beacon to preserve the last remaining parcels of open space in
the city, and in particular to save the historic Hiddenbrooke property
which was in imminent danger of development. In December 2005 the
Beacon City Council voted to seek to purchase the Hiddenbrooke parcel
from the developers. The council established an Open Space Fund
for the city and proposed a bond issue for $1,000,000 to help pay for
the purchase.
Friends of Hiddenbrooke supports the City Council's decision to add a proposition for the bond issue to the ballot of the November 2006 regular election. It is important that the people of Beacon have the opportunity to choose to support the bond issue and the city council's decision to purchase the Hiddenbrooke property and other open space in the City.
Friends of Hiddenbrooke supports the City Council's decision to add a proposition for the bond issue to the ballot of the November 2006 regular election. It is important that the people of Beacon have the opportunity to choose to support the bond issue and the city council's decision to purchase the Hiddenbrooke property and other open space in the City.
Benefits of Open
Space
- Green space in urban areas provides substantial environmental benefits.
- The US Forest
Service
calculates that each tree in a town contributes the equivalent of $2600
to the economy through reducing air pollution, recycling water
and preventing soil erosion. Trees and the soil under them act as
natural filters for water pollution , the leaves absorb Carbon dioxide,
a pollutant from automobiles, and produce pure Oxygen .
The Trust for Public Land
- Green space controls storm water runoff.
- Trees
more effectively and less expensively manage the flow of storm water
runoff than do concrete sewers and drainage ditches.
- Parks and Open Space cost less to support than developments
- Residential developments, especially high density developments, often cost more to support than the open space they replace.
- Saving Land Lowers Taxes
- Recent
studies in Dutchess County show that in nearby Fishkill, the town
spent on average $1.23 for each $1.00 a residential property provided
in taxes, while the cost of open space was only 74 cents! Fact sheet - Cost of Community Services