Town of Clifton Park 

A History of Conservation Efforts

In 1996, the Town adopted a Right-To-Farm Law and initiated a term conservation easement program as a tool to encourage landowners to keep farming, for terms of 15- to 25-years. In 2003, the Town adopted an Open Space Plan that included a component on agriculture and farmland and set a goal to protect 300 to 500 acres. The Town Clifton Park has worked with willing landowners and protected four farms to date, and now holds the deeds of four permanent conservation easements on about 258 acres, as of December 2023, secured through the purchase of development rights. With the purchase/sale of development rights to the town, farmland owners retain their private farms and remain on local tax rolls, with non-agricultural development rights extinguished.

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In September 2023, the Town of Clifton Park celebrated its 30th Annual “Farm Fest”, a special, community-wide event each fall that offers public opportunities to visit working farms, and to learn about and experience farming and agriculture in Clifton Park. Amidst the appreciation for farming in the community, the Town of Clifton Park also experiences state and national trends in the changing face of agriculture with the retirement of older farmers, development pressures to convert farmland to homes or other commercial uses, loss of farm operations over time, difficulty finding farm workers, challenges for renting land for farming as well as challenges for entry level or the next generation of farmers to gain access to farmland in Clifton Park.

Why Prepare This Plan Now?
Development pressure is continuing in the Town of Clifton Park and Saratoga County from residential and commercial development, including for solar photovoltaic arrays and utility infrastructure on open lands throughout Town. Amidst this development pressure, property owners continue to seek options and opportunities for their farmlands, including the potential for new farming activities and uses. The community of Clifton Park has successfully protected four (4) farms in town through purchase the development rights, with assistance from the Saratoga County Open Space Grant Program, and its first NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets Farmland Protection Implementation Grant (FPIG) for purchase of development rights. The Town had been awarded previous FPIG funding for two farms for a 5-year lease of development rights “pilot” type of program, with one farm opting out of the grant; and the other farm starting the lease program, but then converting their land to a solar utility operation, and repaying all grant funds.

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The Town previously took a deep look at farmland issues and protection as part of its 2001-2002 planning process for its Open Space Plan that was adopted by the Town Board in 2003. The community took another look at the Western Clifton Park area of town in 2004-2005 through its Western Clifton Park Land Conservation Plan and GEIS which the Town Board adopted in 2006. The Town proceeded to adopt new zoning districts in Western Clifton Park, including Conservation Residential Zoning District with detailed procedures for conserving lands even through development processes. The new code in 2006 also included Open Space Incentive Zoning which offered options and relief for landowners in this area.

More than 20 years later, after revising the entire zoning code for Western Clifton Park,  protecting four (4) farms totaling nearly 300 acres, securing more than 2,000 acres of public parks and preserves throughout Town, and implementing Town Center Area Form-Based Code Zoning in the eastern part of town, it is time to evaluate the town’s resources and public values to define the public vision, goals and actions to guide the next 10 to 20 years of implementation. The Town of Clifton Park was awarded a NYS Agricultural and Markets Farmland Protection Planning Grant in December 2023 to support the work of this town wide farming planning process. The project goal is to create an action plan by Fall 2025.