{"id":4217,"date":"2020-06-20T14:00:24","date_gmt":"2020-06-20T18:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nysacc.org\/?p=4217"},"modified":"2021-08-16T22:23:07","modified_gmt":"2021-08-17T02:23:07","slug":"focus-on-a-cac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nysacc.org\/index.php\/2020\/06\/20\/focus-on-a-cac\/","title":{"rendered":"Focus on a CAC"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n
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NYSACC would like to offer its members the opportunity to share with us the things they\u2019ve done and provide us with information we can use.<\/strong> To start the ball rolling, the Town of Bedford Conservation Board presents a few of the things it cares about.<\/p>\n

Short Description of Bedford<\/strong><\/p>\n

The town, composed of three hamlets, Bedford Hills, Bedford Village, and Katonah, is 39.42 square miles, with a population of 17,755 (2018). Although its location is about 40 miles north of New York City, it\u2019s not your typical bedroom community. About 60% of its land is open space (having two NYC reservoirs, one nearly completely in Bedford, does help), and its history is quite unique. Founded in 1680, as a town in Connecticut, it was transferred to New York in a boundary dispute, settled by King William III of England. The town served as the county seat of Westchester County during the American Revolutionary War, until Bedford Village was burned by the British in July 1779. Bedford Village was rebuilt, and is now a national historic district. John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, retired to Bedford, and his home, the Jay Homestead, is a historic state park.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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The \u201cChapman\u201d house being moved from Old Katonah to New Katonah circa 1900. Note the two horses circling a capstan post which in turn pull tow ropes attached to framing under the house. Owners, with their clothes drying on their front porch, lived in the house during the approximately 6 weeks move.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Katonah, the hamlet at the north end of town, was founded in the 1840\u2019s when the railroad came north, and flourished as a stop on the daily milk train going south. However, in 1894, New York City ordered Katonah torn down due to their plans to enlarge the Croton Reservoir, at that time the city\u2019s sole source of drinking water, which would inundate parts of Katonah that were too close. Instead, with the help of New York City, Katonah starting in 1897, and lasting 10 years, moved 55 of its large Victorian homes and barns, \u00be miles south to its present location, crossing a river and up and down hills, using only horsepower and laundry detergent lubricated, straight Georgian pine tracks. supported by wooden cribbing. The relocated homes form a national historic district.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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The majestic \u201cBedford Oak\u201d, symbol of the town, is estimated to be over 500 years, its girth is more than 23 feet, and the spread of its branches is 120 feet from tip to tip.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Conservation Board<\/strong><\/p>\n

Formed in 1969 as a CAC (possibly the 2nd<\/sup> oldest CAC in the state). Bedford became a Conservation Board in 1975. It presently has 9 full members and 3 associate members. Of its 9 full members, 3 members are required to be from each of its hamlets.<\/p>\n

Site Visit Checklist<\/strong> \u2013 <\/em>evaluating an application that comes before one of our town\u2019s regulatory boards\/commissions for its environmental impact on our community is one of our core functions. It all starts with the site visit.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s our one-page checklist<\/a>.<\/strong> Feel free to copy or amend. We borrowed it from the Town of Yorktown Conservation Board. Remember: ALWAYS get the permission of the landowner, before you go onto their property.<\/strong> Yes, you may have the right, as applicant is before the town, but going on a property unannounced and not approved should never be done.<\/p>\n

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Ordinances that were initiated by the board or supported through its passage<\/strong> <\/em>(this link connects to the Bedford Code,<\/a> where the referenced chapters can be found):<\/p>\n