Open Space, Trails & Riverfront Advisory Committee

The Town of Clifton Park is in the homestretch for securing a Permanent Conservation Easement over Maple Hill Farm of Ashdown Road to protect 71.262 acres of land in perpetuity in the Town of Clifton Park.  The farm is located at the intersection of NY 146A and Ashdown Road. The Deed of Conservation Easement and the Easement Survey will be filed with Saratoga County just as other ownership of real estate is filed with the county. The Deed of Conservation Easement will run the land and will apply to all future owners of the private property.

In September, the State approved the Town’s proposed Deed of Conservation Easement and other supporting documents, so the next step is a Town Board resolution to authorize the purchase of development rights.  As the Town is proposing to utilize the Open Space Capital Reserve Fund (established as an implementation of the Town’s 2003 Open Space Plan), there will be a Public Hearing on the action, to be held on Monday, November 6, 2003 at 7:05 p.m. at the regular town board meeting.

The 2003 Open Space Plan had set a goal for the Town to protect at least 300 to 500 acres of viable farmland. 

With securing a permanent conservation easement over the lands of Maple Hill Farm, the total acreage of farmland that is permanently protected in the Town of Clifton Park will increase to 258 acres.  The other three (3) farms that have been protected are:  King Crest Farm, 41 acres on Grooms Road just northwest from the Historic Grooms Tavern Complex; Riverview Orchards, 87 acres on Riverview Road; and Cloverdale Meadows (Heckman/Baillargeon), 59 acres on Hubbs Road.

The Town of Clifton Park applied in September 2023 to the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets for a Municipal Agricultural Planning Grant opportunity to be able access state funds to help the town accomplish a town-wide farmland protection plan.  The 2003 Open Space Plan references farmland protection as one of the 5 major themes, but with the 20 years passage since the adoption of the Open Space Plan, the Open Space, Trails & Riverfront Committee had recommended the Town consider this planning process to evaluate the current status of agriculture and farming and help plan for the future of the agricultural economy and lands in Clifton Park.

With Maple Hill Farms, the new Total Acres of Protected Open Space (since 2000) will increase to be 2,076 acres including Barney Road Golf Course, Dwaaskill Nature Preserve, Gransey Park, Northwoods Nature Preserve, 41 acres off of Riverview Road, the newly opened Town Center Park, and Veterans Memorial Park.