By Lee Lutz: [1]
A "blue ribbon panel" created after voters defeated Brookhaven's Community Preservation Fund in November has recommended eight ways to acquire and preserve the town's remaining open space.

While recommending that all eight methods be adopted by town officials, the panel — comprised of such notables as Pine Barrens Society Executive Director Dick Amper, former Long Island Regional Planning Board boss Lee Koppelman and Joe Gergela, executive director of the Long Island Farm Bureau — acknowledged that some acquisition methods would increase local taxes.

John Turner, the Brookhaven environmental protection director who chaired the blue ribbon panel, previewed the report at the Town Board's May 29

work session. Despite the fact that, over the last decade, Brookhaven has "spent or encumbered more than $130 million" to protect open space, the panel identified about 500 acres of "high priority farmland and

environmentally sensitive" property, valued at nearly $39 million, it would like to see preserved, Turner noted.

It also identified roughly 275 acres, valued at approximately $22 million, that are already the subject of development applications but have "willing sellers" — and can be preserved, Turner added, if the town acts quickly.

At the top of the panel's list of recommendations: an amendment to the legislation that created the Joseph Macchia Environmental Preservation Capital Reserve Fund, established in 1998 and named for the former Republican Town Board member from Mount Sinai. The fund's primary mechanism for raising money is collecting 50 cents out of every $2 (the cubic yard fee) for dumping "excess material" at the town landfill in Yaphank; the panel recommends raising the fee to $5 per cubic yard and dedicating $3.50 to the Macchia fund, thereby increasing funds raised from $750,000 annually to more than $2 million.

The panel's second suggestion was to add a "general tax rate supplement" to all assessed properties in the town, a plan Turner said has been implemented in various states and locally by Southampton Town. Using figures provided by Tax Assessor Jim Ryan, Turner said the current town general fund tax rate is $4.47 per $100 of assessed valuation; if the assessment were raised by $1 per $100, an additional $4.74 million per year would be collected from taxpayers. According to Ryan, that increase would cost the average Brookhaven homeowner about $28.75 annually.

Other panel recommendations included "more aggressively utiliz[ing] the town's capital budget;" hiring staff to provide "education and management activities" on acquired properties; revising legislation permitting the town to sell the developed portions of acquired land; financing through the state Environmental Facilities Corp.; and designating some portion of fees charged for the use of town facilities for special events to the Macchia Fund.

The panel suggested not utilizing transfers of development rights to fund preservation. Last year's failed referendum included a provision to make available for sale 25 percent of the development rights from acquired properties; according to Turner, the Long Island Builders Institute— represented on the panel by Mike Watt — recommended 100 percent of those rights be transferred for sale in future preservation plans, but the panel majority rejected that idea.

Other panel seats were filled by representatives of the Peconic Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy, the New York League of Conservation Voters and the Affiliated Brookhaven Civic Organizations.

All seven Town Board members agreed preservation is important, although not all were convinced the panel had explored all available options. Councilman Tim Mazzei (R-Blue Point) asked Turner if a bond similar to the $100 million open space bond approved in 2004 by Brookhaven voters was considered.

Turner said the panel decided the effect on taxpayers of such a bond would be too great. Brookhaven Finance Commissioner Charlene Kagel said a similarly sized bond, in today's numbers, would cost the average town homeowner about $40 annually.

Mazzei, however, noted that such a bond act would produce preservation funds more quickly than landfill fees or increased assessments, which would take years to generate funds. And the clock is ticking, the councilman added, noting the town's remaining open space "will only be available for 10 to 12 years" before Brookhaven is "built out."