Suffolk County Legislature Approves New Procedure for Open Space & Farmland Acquisition

“Triple A” Will Provide for Prioritization of Properties; Maximize Environmental Protection with Limited Fiscal Resources

(Hauppauge, NY- April 24, 2013) –The Suffolk County Legislature today approved a new procedure for acquisition of open space, farmland and active recreation parcels, amending Chapter 1070 of the Code of Suffolk County for Real Estate Appraisal, Acquisition and Disposition. The procedure, known as “Triple A” – which reference to the appraisal, acquisition and approval steps of the planning process – will provide more information to lawmakers earlier in the acquisition process, and allow for prioritization of properties to be acquired by Suffolk County through the Drinking Water Protection Program, which funds open space, farmland and active recreation acquisitions. 

The procedural refinement builds on work presented earlier this year by the Department of Economic Development and Planning to evaluate and rank all properties on the County’s four master lists.  Taken together, the new procedural tool and the Comprehensive Master List will be used to determine the best use of limited funds based on objective criteria, including environmental rating, appraisal value, recommendations from planning staff and funds available.

“We owe it to the people of Suffolk and to future generations to make more informed decisions about open space acquisition,” said County Executive Steve Bellone. “Until now, properties have been considered for acquisition on a first-come, first-serve basis without regard to the broader view, including environmental sensitivity.  This new process will give the Legislature an opportunity to periodically review a group of properties at one time, and evaluate them against each other and in consideration of funds available.”

“More than 25% of all land in Suffolk has been preserved in some way.  By every benchmark, not only have the County’s open space programs been successful, but these programs have become an example for environmental acquisition efforts nationwide,” said Legislator Kara Hahn, Chair of the Environment, Planning & Agricultural Committee (EPA). “Now, faced with funding levels a fraction of what has been spent in the past, this procedural refinement will allow us to make sure the investment of taxpayer dollars will be used even more effectively as we move forward.”

The current acquisition process involves two legislative steps, a planning step and an authorization step, which takes the acquisition process from evaluation to extension of an offer and an environmental site assessment all in the first step, and then allows the Legislature to authorize purchases without regard to other properties in the pipeline.  The new procedure requires three steps, an appraisal step, a procedural motion and an approval resolution, which allows the Legislative EPA Committee and then the full Legislature to prioritize the properties through a procedural motion.  After the procedural motion, the Legislature would then consider the prioritized properties and authorize further acquisition steps, including extension of an offer, to those properties selected.  (A graphic comparing the current acquisition process with the new procedure is attached.) 

Since 1959, Suffolk County has spent $1,079,069,727 and purchased nearly 60,000 acres of land to preserve important environmental resources and farmland.  In 2007, following a referendum, the County accelerated use of the existing Drinking Water Protection Program, which funds open space acquisition through a percentage of the ¼% tax.   In 2012 alone, Suffolk County preserved more than 944 acres, both open space and farmland.  However, after several years of accelerated acquisition, current allocations to acquisition either in accepted offers or in contract now exceed current appropriations.  Currently, Suffolk County has 43 parcels, totaling 420 acres, in various stages of acquisition, from planning steps to contract, with total projected expenditures of $23.9 million.  With a current account balance of available funds of $25.1 million, $1.14 million is available currently for future negotiation, with an anticipated transfer of an additional $5 million this year from sales tax.

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