Government

Land preservation on the agenda for Southold Town Board

 

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The Southold Town Board will host a pair of public hearings Tuesday regarding properties that could be preserved as open space. 

One hearing is on a proposal to establish an open development area on a 7.2-acre portion of a 61.1-acre parcel owned by the Sidor family on Oregon Road in Mattituck.

The town is currently in contract to purchase the remaining 53.9 acres of the potato farm for about $3.5 million.

The proposed open development area comprises three lots, the smallest of which is 1.8 acres.

The open development area will allow the property owners, including Planning Board member Martin Sidor, to reserve some land for future construction while selling most of the development rights to the town for conservation.

The town plans to use Community Preservation Funds and a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service to purchase the development rights.

The other public hearing scheduled for Tuesday is to discuss the donation of an East Marion property and its potential to be conserved as open space.

An East Marion couple have offered the town the 10-acre parcel in East Marion, near Kayleigh’s Court, which is currently zoned for residential housing. While the Town doesn’t ordinarily accept land donations, Melissa Spiro, Southold’s land preservation coordinator, said the parcel would be a good acquisition.

“It is a good piece to preserve and remove that development potential,” Ms. Spiro said. “We have done some very large preservations in the area… this will be an extension of those conservation efforts in that area.”

Since the property is a donation, acquiring the land would be a minimal expense for the town, however, an exact number was not provided.

The hearings begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Hall meeting room.

Read the town board’s full agenda below:

2014-10-21 Town Board – Full Agenda