December 2000

By Edna Sussman

Parkland must be preserved. Land already dedicated to the public for recreational uses must not be permitted to slip away even for other equally worthwhile objectives. We have precious little open space in Westchester. That which has already been set aside for the public must be jealously guarded.

Over one hundred years ago the New York Court of Appeals enforced the principles of the public trust doctrine. This doctrine has its antecedents in Roman law and was incorporated into the jurisprudence of society after society through the ages. The doctrine establishes that the public shares common or shared environments such as parks and commons, air, water, dunes and other natural features. In the words of Professor Joseph Sax of the University of Michigan Law School in his seminal article on this legal doctrine, those things "are so particularly the gifts of nature's bounty that they ought to be reserved for the whole of the populace. " Government trustees are obligated to maintain these natural features for all users including future generations. Following this doctrine the New York Court of Appeals held in 1871, in a case involving Prospect Park in Brooklyn, that land that had been dedicated for a public park was held in trust for the public and could not be used for other purposes unless such other use was specifically approved by the state legislature. This legal premise has been followed consistently in New York by the courts and alienation of parkland permitted by the legislature has consistently required the substitution of new parkland to replace what is taken away from the public.

In the last decades open space in Westchester County has been consumed by development. The County's Department of Planning Report on Land Use Trends shows that between 1988 and 1996 sixteen thousand acres of undeveloped land were developed. Thus 24%, or practically a quarter, of the land that was not developed in 1988 was developed in the passage of a mere eight years. This development of undeveloped land continues apace. The preservation of open space has become a common concern in Westchester and has become a central goal in many communities. Indeed, bond referendums were passed this November which enabled local governments in seven communities in Westchester to obtain funds for the acquisition of open spaces.

Parklands are open spaces that have already been set aside for the public. Often the lands dedicated as parkland have unique natural features such as waterways, views, wildlife or vegetation that make them particularly suitable for public enjoyment. Thus parklands are generally not ordinary open spaces but very special natural environments, particularly deserving of preservation. Sometimes governments intrude on the public enjoyment of parkland by using it for other worthy goals such as affordable housing or for other community needs such as parking cars or storing compost leaves. While in the short run it may seem convenient and inexpensive to use parkland in this way, the longer view demonstrates the fallacy of this approach. We already see communities in Westchester expending significant sums to increase preserved open space, in the face of the rapid disappearance of undeveloped land. Nor can one measure the human cost to a populace deprived of parkland opportunities for relaxation and recreation.

Sites other than parks should be identified for non-park purposes. Underutilized developed sites should be the sites of first resort for such other purposes. Only by doing so can we ensure that people have the benefit of the parklands held in trust for them and avoid disputes as to what is or is not a proper substitute for such lands, a dispute which can take a generation to wend its way through the courts and deprive a generation from enjoyment of common land.

As we approach what many would view as the true start of the new millenium, we must all think about what we can do to preserve our shared public lands so that they will exist for the enjoyment of generations to come. Let us all take care and follow actions in our own communities to ensure that parkland already dedicated to the public is preserved while we strive to raise the funds to purchase more open space. In the words of our great American naturalist, John Muir, "parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life."

Edna Sussman is the Executive Director of Federated Conservationists of Westchester County, Inc.