Calling all farmers: East Hampton wants to make a deal
The property at 20 Springs Fireplace Rd. in East Hampton on April 6. The Town of East Hampton plans to purchase the property with Community Preservation Funds in order to lease the land to farmers to be able to use for agricultural purposes. Credit: Gordon M. Grant
An area with “prime agricultural soil” in East Hampton is expected to be available soon to farmers for a “nominal” fee under a town plan to acquire the 20.5-acre property.
East Hampton Town Board members on Thursday approved spending $6.9 million to buy four lots bounded by Springs Fireplace Road and Accabonac Road.
The money will be drawn from the town’s Community Preservation Fund, funds generated by a 2% tax on most real estate transactions that East Hampton officials use on preservation efforts that include saving open space.
The mostly empty farmland will be available to a farmer or farmers to lease through a bidding process once the town closes on the property sale, according to East Hampton officials.
The town in 1996 had purchased the development rights of about 16 acres of the property through a county program that began in 1974 to maintain farmland for agricultural uses.
Purchasing development rights restricts any future development on the property. More than 20,000 acres of farmland have been preserved in Suffolk County in this manner by the county, local municipalities and through land trusts, according to the county.
The East Hampton property, which the town plans to buy from owner Caroline Martuscello and a trust, hasn’t been used for agriculture in recent years, officials said.
Scott Wilson, the town's director of land acquisition and management, said the land “contains prime agricultural soil” but has been “underutilized.”
As the property owner, the town would license the land to a farmer or farmers who would be required to pay a yearly “nominal” fee per acre that hasn't yet been set, according to Councilman David Lys. That money would go back into the Community Preservation Fund, he added.
Lys said food crop production is a likely outcome for the land, but town officials will wait to see the responses submitted in the bidding process.
East Hampton has completed similar arrangements in the past two years to lease farmland after two other property acquisitions.
Wilson said during a March public hearing on the land acquisition that farmland preservation was one of the top priorities for the town's Community Preservation Fund money.
“Our intent is to seek a farmer or farmers who will return the land to active production,” he said of the 20.5-acre property.
Out of more than 500 parcels the town has acquired through the Community Preservation Fund, this acquisition would rank in the top 30 for largest acreage, according to town data.
An area with “prime agricultural soil” in East Hampton is expected to be available soon to farmers for a “nominal” fee under a town plan to acquire the 20.5-acre property.
East Hampton Town Board members on Thursday approved spending $6.9 million to buy four lots bounded by Springs Fireplace Road and Accabonac Road.
The money will be drawn from the town’s Community Preservation Fund, funds generated by a 2% tax on most real estate transactions that East Hampton officials use on preservation efforts that include saving open space.
The mostly empty farmland will be available to a farmer or farmers to lease through a bidding process once the town closes on the property sale, according to East Hampton officials.
The town in 1996 had purchased the development rights of about 16 acres of the property through a county program that began in 1974 to maintain farmland for agricultural uses.
Purchasing development rights restricts any future development on the property. More than 20,000 acres of farmland have been preserved in Suffolk County in this manner by the county, local municipalities and through land trusts, according to the county.
The East Hampton property, which the town plans to buy from owner Caroline Martuscello and a trust, hasn’t been used for agriculture in recent years, officials said.
Scott Wilson, the town's director of land acquisition and management, said the land “contains prime agricultural soil” but has been “underutilized.”
As the property owner, the town would license the land to a farmer or farmers who would be required to pay a yearly “nominal” fee per acre that hasn't yet been set, according to Councilman David Lys. That money would go back into the Community Preservation Fund, he added.
Lys said food crop production is a likely outcome for the land, but town officials will wait to see the responses submitted in the bidding process.
East Hampton has completed similar arrangements in the past two years to lease farmland after two other property acquisitions.
Wilson said during a March public hearing on the land acquisition that farmland preservation was one of the top priorities for the town's Community Preservation Fund money.
“Our intent is to seek a farmer or farmers who will return the land to active production,” he said of the 20.5-acre property.
Out of more than 500 parcels the town has acquired through the Community Preservation Fund, this acquisition would rank in the top 30 for largest acreage, according to town data.
Joe Werkmeister covers the towns of Southampton, East Hampton and Shelter Island. He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and previously worked as the editor of two North Fork community newspapers.
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