Our home farm, the original Lowland Farm, consists of 300 acres in Warwick, NY, in the lower Hudson Valley. The home farm is a mixture of rolling upland pastures and woods, and bottom land (lowland) along the Pochuck Creek next to the Black Dirt region of Pine Island. In 2007, Will Brown and Barbara Felton, Lowland’s owners, put Lowland Farm under the protection of Warwick’s Preservation of Development rights program (see below), placing a permanent easement on the property and securing their responsibility as stewards of the land.
As the cattle herd grew more land was needed. In 2011 and 2016 they purchased land in adjacent Vernon township in New Jersey to create Lowland South, a half-mile away from the home farm (an easy walk for cows), Lowland South consists of upland hillside with high fields within New Jersey Highlands’ preservation area and has easements prohibiting development. Much of the land had been neglected and required extensive efforts in order to restore pasturing. Today these lands are increasingly rich pastureland.
Community Preservation Project Plan
One of the key elements supporting the adoption and implementation of the Town of Warwick Community Preservation Fund is the Community Preservation Project Plan (CPPP). The CPPP serves to build upon the 1999 Comprehensive Plan and 2002 Zoning Law, as well as new initiatives, including but not limited to additional regulatory techniques and subdivision, zoning and wetland protection laws, as well as a multitude of other conservation strategies that have been adopted by the Town.
Purchase of Development Rights (PDR)
PDR has improved our communities. This $9.5 million bond issue was embraced by the voters of Warwick in 2000 to save farmland through the voluntary purchase of the development rights of farm properties and open space: the land remains farmland in perpetuity, farmers receive monies which enable them to modernize their operations, and they don’t feel it’s necessary to sell to developers to make ends meet.
Community Preservation Fund (CPF)
When a house or land is sold in Warwick, the buyer pays a small fee, generally less than the amount charged for title fees in a mortgage’s closing costs. The seller pays nothing. This fee is added to a dedicated escrow fund that can only be used for projects identified in the Community Preservation Plan to preserve the community character of Warwick.
The CPF will spread the cost for continuing preservation to those who will enjoy the past and current fruits of our labor by contributing to our shared future in a desirable, livable Warwick.
The best time to move the cows was when the cows want to move…
–Will Brown