Preservation Status of Park Road Parcel in Jeopardy

As Suffolk County legislators consider , a parcel of land that has rallied a group of local residents to preserve it - and has had a - could be in jeopardy.

Kenn Barra has agreed to sell the 4.1-acre parcel of land at the corner of Park Road and Sound Avenue to Suffolk County. The parcel currently holds a , and a hamlet park is proposed for the parcel, should the purchase go through.

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But with Suffolk County's open space program no longer able to bond for purchases as of Nov. 30 of last year - forcing the county to pay as it goes and resulting in much less money in the program's coffers - some lawmakers have expressed support for scrutinizing how it prioritizes its open space purchases. 

While previously open space was purchased on a "first-in, first out" basis, a resolution laid on the table at Tuesday's legislature meeting would give the county Environment, Planning and Agriculture Committee 90 days to come up with a new evaluation system and prioritize those parcels up for purchase. 

During that time, according to the resolution's sponsor, Legis. Kara Hahn, D-Setauket, all properties not in contract would be put on hold while an updated program is conceived and the proposed acquisitions are prioritized. But still, for those properties in contract, the legislature still has the ultimate say if the buy is approved or not.

"We still have the right to turn properties down," she said. "The seller understands that the contract is not binding until the legislature passes an authorizing resolution."

According to Dick Amper of the Long Island Pine Barrens Society, over two dozen properties in the county have agreed upon prices with the county, though have yet to go to contract - the Barra parcel being one of them. He said nearly another two dozen are in contract.

North Fork Legis. Ed Romaine, R-Center Moriches said he's "totally opposed" to Hahn's proposal, and is trying to rally environmental groups such as Amper's to oppose it as well.

"We have almost 50 properties in the pipeline - that are in contract or have accepted offers - many of whom have a signed contract with the county," he said. "What does it say to a landowner who is willing to buy if the county backs out?"

Romaine said the former Beagle Club property is up in the air as well, as the $8.9 million parcel is in contract now, though has yet to receive an authorizing resolution from the legislature. Amper told legislators that the property was not given a proper rating by county planners.

In the case of the Barra property, partnering with the Town of Riverhead in the purchase is one requirement for open space funds to back the purchase. Last Tuesday, the town board voted to hold a public hearing for March 6 to consider spending $50,000 in Community Preservation Funds to join with the county. Should the board approve that expenditure, and complete an environmental review of the property - expected not to be extensive considering the proposed use - a contract would need to be drawn up and signed before county pauses and re-evaluates its purchase program, should it decide to do so.

Mike Foley, a Reeves Park resident who has spoken at previous legislature and town board meetings, favoring preservation of the parcel, said on Friday that the recent developments were troubling.

"If the county renegs on its accepted offer by Barra, there will be hell to pay by the community," he said. "We worked very hard to bring this together. Mr. Barra accepted a very generous offer. And the property is worth much more value than the acerage suggests to the community, town, to the historic Sound Avenue corridor, and to the memories of everyone who died on Sept. 11."

Good news for Reeves Park residents would be that the Barra parcel received a rating of 55 from the County Planning Department, a relatively solid score considering the minimum required to be considered for purchase is 25.

Pete Danowski, Barra's lawyer, said that it was "disturbing" to hear that after an offer was made and accepted, it may fall through. Should that be the case, "from our end, we would probably go back and develop the property. As far as I'm concerned, it should have been built out."

A public hearing for Hahn's bill will be held at the March 13 legislative session in Riverside. After the hearing is closed it will become eligible for consideration by the EPA Committee.

Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that the bill would go straight for a committee vote. Because the bill is a local law, the public is allowed to speak at a public hearing before consideration.