Proposed Deal Will Add Recreation Acres at North Fork Preserve

It’s going to take a second public hearing, but the amount of acreage within the North Fork Preserve that will be made available for active recreation such as camping, fishing and hiking will be twice what was originally projected when acquisition by the county and town was first proposed.

According to Deputy Town Attorney Anne Marie Prudenti, the owners of the preserve — an expanse of 311 acres between Sound Avenue and Sound Shore Road that had been used by a private club for hunting — have already agreed to terms to sell the land to the county and town.

But Prudenti said Monday that a change in how the transaction would be structured requires a second public hearing, which the Town Board at its meeting on Tuesday is expected to schedule for Aug. 16 at 7 p.m. at the start of a regular Town Board meeting.

Under an original plan approved last December, the town would have contributed 10 percent – or $500,000 – toward the $5 million purchase price of 90 acres that would be earmarked for active recreation, with the county paying the remainder.

Under the new plan, the town would still pitch in no more than $500,000, but its contribution would cover 5 percent of the $10 million purchase price for 175 acres that county planners now say can be prudently used for active recreation, up from the 90 acres previously contemplated.

The cost of the remaining 136 acres of the preserve — the parts considered the most environmentally sensitive — would be borne entirely by the county, bringing the total cost of the acquisition to around $18 million, according to an earlier estimate by County Leg. Ed Romaine, who had pressed for the acquisition.

Prudenti said it was impossible to pin down a date when the deal would close because various technical details have yet to be worked out. But she said she had received assurances from the county that it had the funds available in its drinking water protection fund to make the purchase.

As for the town’s part, Supervisor Sean Walter confirmed Monday that Riverhead had enough money in its community preservation fund, financed by the two percent real estate transfer tax, to contribute its share.

Loretta Fisher, an environmental analyst in the county’s planning department, said Monday that further details about the expanded area for active recreation area would be made available at the end of the week.

If approved by the Town Board and the County Legislature, as expected, the purchase of the North Fork Preserve, for years at the top of a wish list among environmental groups, would represent one of the largest open space acquisitions ever on the east end of Long Island.