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Detailed Criteria per Resource Category Area

For decision-making among parcels in the same resource criteria, below are additional criteria for evaluating parcels:

1. Protect Water/Drinking Resources
   Lands in this category meet one or more of the following:
   1. The lands / waters are an integral part of a significant watershed area, creek, pond, or other body of water, such as but not limited to the following: Mohawk River, Stony Creek Reservoir (Latham Reservoir), Ballston Lake, Dwaas Kill, Long Kill, Anthony Kill, Cooley Kill, Stony Creek, Alplaus Kill
   2. Large-scale wetlands/wetland complexes in the Town of Clifton Park
   3. Lands with significant areas of federal wetlands and/or significant vernal pools, intermittent streams and unique wetland conditions
   4. Streams, ponds, and lakes including a buffer of adjacent lands
   5. Water supply surface reservoirs including a buffer of adjacent lands
   6. Public water supply wellheads, and wellhead protection areas
   7. Lands with aquifers and aquifer/groundwater recharge areas
   8. Floodplain protection areas
       
2. Lands for Protecting Natural Systems and Providing for Nature Preserves: (Wildlife Habitats, Forests, Grasslands and Wetlands - Significant Ecological Areas)
   1. Lands listed in the New York State Open Space Plan - including about 500 acres known as the Dwaas Kill Natural Area, and lands buffering this ecological area
   2. Lands adjacent to and contributing buffer lands to the Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve; the Mohawk River and critical migratory bird areas and breeding areas
   3. Stony Creek Reservoir Area and Stony Kill (stream - class A)
   4. Ballston Lake watershed, including the Ballston Lake Road drainage system
   5. Wood Road vicinity habitats: Karner Blue butterfly habitat and large wetland system
   6. Lands in the vicinity of the MacElroy Road beaver pond and wetlands
   7. Large-scale wetlands/wetland complexes in Town of Clifton Park
   8. Lands with significant areas of federal wetlands and/or significant vernal pools, intermittent streams and any other unique  wetlands habitats
   9. Rivers, streams, particularly fishing-quality streams with native trout and high quality classified streams, lakes, ponds, and significant shorelines, including a buffer of adjacent lands
   10. Lands with significant mature forests, woodland areas, areas of contiguous blocks or forests and woodlands
   11. Open lands: grassland habitats
   12. The lands and/or waters that are an important landscape linkage habitat that may also support known migration routes and/or a terrestrial wildlife movement corridor.
   13. Lands with unique geological or physical features, rock outcroppings, steep slopes, and related unique habitats
   14. The lands and/or waters that provide habitat, buffer and wildlife corridor for state and/or federally rare, threatened and endangered species.
   15. The lands and/or waters that are in a relatively natural, undisturbed condition.
   16. The lands and/or waters that share a common boundary with publicly protected land or other significant natural open space areas.
   17. Lands adjacent to/connecting to open space created in residential subdivisions
   18. Areas of significant wildlife observation
        
3. Working landscape: active farmland and active forestry
   Priorities: preservation of viable, actively used agricultural land and farmland, and forestry land that is contributing to the agricultural economy of the town; farms that contribute to the scenic, historic, rural character and landscape of the community; farmland that serves to provide wildlife habitat and/or is a source of fallow, high quality agricultural soils for future use; farms and farming operations that have diverse operations including agri-tourism activities to remain viable.
   1. Size.  Farms of 25 acres or greater in size are the priority; however, smaller parcels are also eligible
   2. Land that is being actively farmed for commercial operations
   3. Farm land soil resources:
      • Prime agricultural soils
      • Soils of Statewide Importance
      • Land with well-drained soil or soils favorable for development
   4. Farmland areas identified in the open space plan
   5. Farmland areas identified as key agricultural lands in the Land Conservation Plan of the Western Clifton Park GEIS
   6. Agricultural land in the country agricultural district
   7. Agricultural land enrolled in an agricultural assessment program
   8. Agricultural land under town's term agricultural conservation easement
   9. Farms that have historical, cultural or scenic quality significance
   10. Farms that have environmental significance as a buffer or that include ecological or habitat areas.
   11. Farms under threat of development pressure and conversion
   12. Farms that employ sounds agricultural environmental practices
   13. Land that is located contiguous to agricultural parcels/operations, or in close proximity to working farms, protected farmlands, or other protected areas
   14. Large continuous tracts of farmland or open space owned by a minimal amount of landowners (lands that will contribute to forming a core area of protected working farms and farmlands)
   15. Farms with potential successor(s) for the farm operations
   16. Lands involving working forestry; lands enrolled or with potential for enrollment for the state forest tax assessment program for timber harvesting
        
4. Lands for Recreation Opportunities & Public Waterfront Access
   1. Active recreational opportunities.  Active recreation needs may require sufficient acreage of "developable land" and also, potentially be accessible to water and sewer infrastructure for serving people coming to the site for active recreation uses.  Active recreation may be described as all types of ballfields, tennis or basketball courts, playgrounds, activities requiring paced facilities such as skateboard parks, indoor recreation facilities, and more intensive recreation uses that require field improvements of facilities, as examples.
   2. Passive recreational opportunities.  Natural areas for preserves or quiet enjoyment, lands for nature trails, pedestrian and bicycle trails systems, public or community gardens, "put-in" access for canoes/kayaks and non-motorized water boats, picnic areas, scenic viewpoints for enjoying scenic views, areas with educational/interpretive signage or kiosks, and other outdoor areas for quiet public enjoyment.
   3. Adjacency to Existing Parklands.  Lands adjacent to existing parks, trails, and recreational areas.
   4. Adjacency to Other Publicly-Owner Land.  Parcels that are adjacent to existing publicly-owned land, as well as parcels of publicly-owned land owned by other than the Town of Clifton Park may be desirable for permanent protection in the future.  For example, country forest, or other state-owned property, Clifton Park Water Authority surplus lands that are no longer needed for the water authority, or other outside-municipality owned land (such as the Stony Creek Reservoir owned by the Town of Colonie) are potentially desirable for permanent protection.
   5. Fishing Access.  Lands along fishing-quality streams for potential public fishing access opportunities.
   6. Power Boat Access.  Lands with shoreline access that is feasible potentially to accommodate power boat access, and water-based recreational opportunities such as along the Mohawk River or Erie Canal.
   7. Non-Motorized Boat Access.  Lands with shoreline that is feasible for low-impact boating, and visual, scenic public access to the waterbody.
   8. Existing private gold courses.  Private golf course lands potentially would be desirable parcels for permanent conservation or recreation opportunities in the future if the landowners express interest.
       
5. Town-wide Trails and Pathway Connections and Greenways
   1. Lands/right-of-way areas that offer important linkages for town-wide or regional trails and pathways systems.
   2. Lands and potential trails or pathways corridors that are identified in the Town of Clifton Park Trails Master Plan.
   3. Lands along streams, rivers for greenway types of paths and connections and with potential for put-in locations for boating and fishing access.
   4. Lands that help connect neighborhood trail systems to the town-wide, county, state and national trail systems and scenic byways.
       
6. Distinctive Clifton Park Character: Historic, Cultural and Scenic Landscape Resources
   1. Land with unusual scenic beauty or character, or part of a larger scenic viewshed.  Prominent scenic vistas, their viewing points, their viewsheds, and viewshed buffer areas.  Include scenic vistas identified within the 1998 inventory.  Including long or expansive views of Mohawk River and views beyond.  Include highly interesting foreground of rolling farmland or old fields, or other interesting foreground landscape combined with an attractive long distance view.
   2. Rural character corridors.  Corridors along roads where the landscape is predominantly characterized by one or more of the following: narrow roads, no shoulder, trees along roadway close to the road; or a mix of open fields, woods, rural land uses, some housing or other noteworthy landscape, historic, and architectural features.
   3. Large, or highly significant smaller, undeveloped parcels - related to the distribution of open space throughout town.  Land that is of sufficient acreage that its development would in and of itself contribute to a loss of character of the town or a section of the town: less than 5 acre sites in denser parts of town; sites of 25 acres or greater in more rural parts of town.
   4. Institutional landholdings.  Lands that connect to adjacent public and private schools, libraries, public facilities such as the YMCA, firehouses, town hall, churches and cemeteries, etc. - whose landholdings contribute to the "open spaces" throughout the town.
   5. Significant historical or archeological resources.  Lands that include properties listed on the state or national register of historic places, or are an area of potential historic or archeological significance.  Lands that are recognized as important local historical sites according to the Historic Preservation Commission or local historical society.  Lands that are currently enrolled under a term historic preservation easement with the town.  Historic sites identified in the 1998 inventory or most recent inventory.
   6. Buffer lands in and around residential areas.  Undeveloped lands - open space areas that serve as buffers around residential areas and are valued for potential passive recreation or simply as desirable undeveloped green space.  These areas could be small in size, but valuable for their proximity to dense population areas.
   7. Gateways into town, and in and around hamlets and the town center area.  Lands that offer large or small significant open space settings that help identify or "frame" the arrival experience into town from adjacent municipalities, into the center of town, or into the unique hamlets and special places throughout the community.