Red Hook (Town), Dutchess County, New York

The Town of Red Hook, population 11,181 (2016), adopted open space incentive zoning that allows increased density in the Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) District in return for preserving farmland and environmentally-sensitive areas in the Agricultural Business (AB) District. Residential receiving sites add one unit per three acres preserved or $20,000. Non-residential adds 2,000 square feet of floor area per two preserved acres or $15,000, which annually adjusts automatically based on changes in median home sales price. The cash in lieu is paid to the Town’s dedicated open space reserve fund and is used exclusively to buy open space protection in the AB district.