Sec. 437.1. Eligibility

Projects eligible for funding for municipal park projects may be either acquisition projects or development projects.

(a) Acquisition projects.

(1) Projects which shall be eligible for funding for acquisition shall be lands, waters and structures for public outdoor or indoor recreation uses, including new facilities or additions to existing facilities dedicated to public outdoor or indoor recreation such as parks, forests, natural areas and beaches. Types of acquisition which will be considered for funding shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(i) areas with frontage on oceans, sounds, rivers, streams, lakes, canals, estuaries or reservoirs that will provide water-based public recreation, water access and open space preservation opportunities, or the acquisition of water bodies themselves;

(ii) land for creating water impoundments to provide water-based public recreation opportunities;

(iii) areas that provide passive recreation opportunities, such as open space areas, forests, flood plains and wetlands;

(iv) natural and environmentally significant areas and preserves and outstanding scenic areas where the objective of acquisition is to preserve the scenic, environmental or natural values; these areas must be open to the general public for recreation use to the extent that this will not cause the natural attributes of the areas to be seriously impaired or lost;

(v) land for day-use picnic areas, neighborhood playgrounds and tot-lots, areas adjacent to school playgrounds, and competitive nonprofessional sports facilities as well as more generalized parklands;

(vi) structures which are appropriate for use primarily for outdoor or indoor public recreation activities, such as skating rinks, swimming pools and court facilities; and

(vii) existing recreational facilities, including environmental education centers.

(2) Means of acquisition.

Acquisition may be accomplished through purchase, transfer, gift or process of eminent domain.

(3) Accelerated acquisition of environmental resources.

The office may, at the commissioner's discretion, accelerate procedures for acquisition of critical environmental areas due to imminent threat to environmental resources or an unexpected and temporary opportunity for acquisition. The commissioner may also consult with the Commissioner of Environmental Conservation regarding the possible availability of other funds for such acquisition.

(4) The following types of acquisition are not eligible for assistance under this Part:

(i) acquisition of historic sites and structures, unless it is clearly demonstrated that the acquisition is primarily for recreation purposes and that the historic aspects are a corollary to the primary recreation purposes;

(ii) acquisition of facilities of primarily educational or cultural interest, including but not limited to museums, libraries and theaters;

(iii) acquisition of areas or facilities designed to be used primarily for commercial semiprofessional and professional arts and athletics;

(iv) acquisition of areas and facilities to be used solely for game refuges or fish production purposes;

(v) acquisition of property containing luxury lodges, motels, full-service restaurants, inns and similar facilities which will be operated by the municipality or a concessionaire primarily to provide patrons with food and sleeping quarters;

(vi) acquisition of land for agricultural uses;

(vii) acquisition of lands on which no recreational opportunity will be provided within three years of acquisition, unless the municipality can demonstrate to the commissioner's satisfaction that immediate acquisition of such land is necessary and that provision for specific and appropriate recreational facilities will occur within a reasonable time;

(viii) acquisition of less than full title in lands, unless the municipality can clearly establish that any unacquired interests will not have a significant impact on the environment or the recreational uses intended for the lands.

(5) Appraisals.

Generally, the fair market value standard will be used as the basic measure of grant assistance for acquisition projects. The municipality shall secure at least one appraisal of the appropriate type for each parcel to be acquired. If the property is valued at $100,000 or more, two appraisals must be obtained. If the property is valued at less than $5,000, a short-form appraisal may be used at the discretion of the commissioner. Appraisals shall be prepared by an active consultant appraiser in accordance with the requirements of the office.

(b) Development and improvement projects.

(1) Projects which shall be eligible for assistance may be either new construction or rehabilitation of existing facilities, or a combination of both, and may include projects to provide for recreational activities, access to park areas, health and safety needs and protection and enhancement of significant natural elements.

(2) A project may consist of the complete or partial development of one area operable as a distinct recreational unit, such as a city park or village playground, or it may consist of a series of similar installations on a number of geographically separated areas, such as picnic facilities in a number of parks. In all cases, the project must be a logical unit of work to be accomplished in a specific time frame.

(3)

(i) Except as provided in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, projects will be funded only on facilities owned by or leased to the municipality or for which the municipality has acquired an easement. No project will be funded for leased property unless:

(a) the lease cannot be revoked at will by the lessor; and

(b) the term of the lease is sufficient, in the commissioner's judgment, to ensure a period of public use of at least 23 years from the date on which the check for the final payment on the project is issued by the State Comptroller and to assure compliance with section 437.6 of this Part.

(ii) A project may be carried out on State-owned land provided that a memorandum of understanding or comparable agreement between the municipality and the State agency having jurisdiction over the land has been executed which:

(a) states the purpose of the project and the conditions under which it is to be carried out; and

(b) contains terms and conditions sufficient in the commissioner's judgement to ensure a period of public use of at least 23 years from the date on which the check for the final payment on the project is issued by the State Comptroller and to assure compliance with section 437.6 of this Part.

(4) Development.

The following are examples of the types of facilities which are eligible for State assistance under this section:

(i) playing fields, playgrounds, rifle/pistol ranges and archery ranges;

(ii) tracks, courts, golf courses and gymnasiums;

(iii) picnic facilities—tables, fireplaces, shelters and related facilities;

(iv) trails—turnouts and trails for nature walks, hiking, bicycling and exercising;

(v) swimming facilities—beaches, pools and lifeguard towers;

(vi) boating facilities—marinas, docks, berths, ramps, lifts, storage and sewage facilities;

(vii) fishing, hunting and camping facilities—piers, access points, site preparation, fireplaces and tent platforms;

(viii) winter sports facilities—Alpine and Nordic skiing, speed or figure skating and ice hockey rinks;

(ix) camping facilities—site preparation, tables, fireplaces and tent platforms; and

(x) community gardens—land preparation, perimeter fencing, perennial plantings, storage bins and sheds, irrigation systems, benches and walkways.

(5) Related facilities.

The following types of development which aid in the delivery of recreation may be eligible for funding:

(i) facilities to provide barrier-free access—the adaptation of new or existing outdoor or indoor recreational facilities and support facilities for use by disabled patrons;

(ii) support facilities—roads, parking areas, utilities, sanitation systems, warming huts, shelters, visitor information huts, kiosks, bathhouses, walkways, pavilions, rest rooms, locker rooms, first-aid rooms and equipment rental facilities;

(iii) operation and maintenance facilities—maintenance buildings, storage areas, administrative offices, dams, erosion control works, fences, sprinkler systems and directional signs, provided that such facilities support the operation and maintenance of the recreation resource on which they are located;

(iv) beautification—landscaping, renovation, clearing of areas damaged by natural disasters, screening, removal, relocation or burial of overhead powerlines, and dredging, where the need for such activities is not caused by inadequate maintenance; and

(v) energy conservation elements—solar energy systems, earth berms, windowshading devices, improved lighting insulation and facilities for assuring the efficient use of energy in recreation facilities.

(6) The following types of development projects are not eligible for assistance under this Part:

(i) operational equipment for boating facilities, such as buoys, life jackets, ropes or boats;

(ii) marinas that do not demonstrate an equitable method of allocating berth space, including established limits for space allocated for commercial charter fishing or sightseeing boats;

(iii) community garden equipment and supplies such as fertilizer, seeds, tools, water hoses, gardens planned as commercial enterprises;

(iv) facilities designed primarily for commercial semiprofessional or professional arts or athletics, such as theaters, stadiums and rodeo arenas;

(v) facilities that are to be used exclusively by disabled patrons unless they are part of a recreation area or facility which serves the general public,

(vi) mobile recreation units, including playmobiles, skatemobiles, swimmobiles, show wagons, puppet wagons and porta-bleachers;

(vii) informational materials and leaflets;

(viii) beautification and renovation projects that are part of a regular maintenance program;

(ix) indoor facilities that are not, or do not directly support, public recreational activity, including auditoriums, libraries and study areas; and

(x) roads constructed outside the boundaries of the recreation area which are not, in fact, access roads whose principal use is to serve the recreation area.

(7) Special situations.

The following types of development projects may be eligible for funding if it can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the commissioner that such funding will be for public park and recreation purposes which are consistent with this Part:

(i) indoor multipurpose recreational facilities—indoor facilities appropriate for use for a variety of public recreational activities by all segments of the population, and related facilities which aid in the delivery of such recreational activities, as described in paragraph (5) of this subdivision;

(ii) educational institutions—recreation areas or facilities developed on the lands of public schools and colleges and universities for coordinated use by the general public and school groups, provided that they are not part of the normal and usual program responsibility of the educational institution and that the facilities are made available for public use on an equitable basis;

(iii) spectator facilities—amphitheaters, bleachers and other seating areas related to playing fields and other eligible facilities, provided such facilities are not designed primarily for commercial professional or semiprofessional arts or athletics, nor intercollegiate or interscholastic sports;

(iv) interpretive facilities—interpretive facilities that provide for the observation or interpretation of natural and environmental resources, including arboretums, aquariums, nature and environmental exhibits, nature interpretive centers and small demonstration farms;

(v) natural heritage institutions—institutions such as zoos, botanical gardens, arboretums and aquariums that own, care for and interpret for the public, living or systematically organized collections of biological specimens. Outdoor display facilities that portray a natural environmental setting that serves the specimen's physical, social, psychological and environmental needs are eligible. Traditional outdoor caging facilities and animal pens are not eligible, although grant assistance can contribute to the renovation of such facilities to achieve a more natural environmental setting as described above. Basic winter/adverse weather housing quarters that are separate and distinct from enclosed viewing and display areas, and which are used in direct support of outdoor display facilities, are also eligible;

(vi) food service—food service facilities whose primary purpose is to serve those participating in recreational activities. Restaurants whose primary clientele is not the users of the recreational facility are not eligible;

(vii) cabins—simple cabins which are part of a recreational camping experience. Motels, inns and lodges are not eligible;

(viii) group camps—group camps which are not intended for use by a particular organization but will be available to all on an equitable basis; and

(ix) utility rights-of-way—recreation facilities placed on utility rights-of-way where those facilities are not required to be provided by the utility itself.