In a “win-win-win,” the Town Board agreed to spend $5.55 million from the Community Preservation Fund to purchase 20.1 acres of the Neslon White Estate, several wooded parcels along Menantic Creek long sought for preservation.
The land acquired comprises five lots of a subdivision between South Menantic Road and West Neck Creek. Suffolk County will contribute another $5.55M toward the total purchase price of $11M.
Gordon Gooding, chair of the Community Preservation Fund Advisory Board, was in attendance at Tuesday’s Town Board meeting along with many of the committee members and several White family members.
During a public hearing that preceded the board’s adoption of the acquisition resolution, he said the property meets nearly all of the goals elucidated in the state legislation that underpins CPF efforts. Under a state law passed in 1998 and recently extended through 2050, residents voted to establish Community Preservation Funds in each of the five East End towns. And, they agreed to charge buyers 2 percent on certain real estate transactions to fund the land acquisition.
The state law listed 13 goals for preserving community character, and of those, Gooding said the White property meets at least eight:
- establishment of parks, nature preserves, or recreation areas
- preservation of open space
- preservation of lands of exceptional scenic value
- preservation of fresh and saltwater marshes or other wetlands
- preservation of aquifer recharge areas
- preservation of undeveloped beach lands or shoreline
- establishment of wildlife refuges for the purpose of maintaining native animal species diversity, including the protection of habitat essential to the recovery of rare, threatened or endangered species
- preservation of ecological areas and lands necessary to protect fisheries
“Sellers always have an opportunity of doing something else with a property,” Gooding said. “The White family wanted to have this property put into preservation.”
Tim Purtell, chair of the Town’s Green Options Committee, said “it’s a very pristine property” that “never got overwhelmed by invasive species.” He described the shorefront as “delightful,” noting the presence of native fauna important to local wildlife.
Supervisor Gerry Siller called it one of the most significant purchases ever made by the Town and praised those working on it for many years, noting “this has not been an easy process.”
“We can’t thank you enough,” Siller told the family representatives.
‘Seemed impossible’
William Freyvogel, whose wife, Carla, is a member of the White family, negotiated with the CPF and Town Board. Speaking on behalf of the family, he thanked Gooding, the CPF committee, Siller, and the Town Board for sticking to the project, even when it seemed impossible.
“You brought this deal back from the dead, and I don’t think any of us would be tonight here if you hadn’t decided to roll up your sleeves and make this a legislative priority for the Town.”
Freyvogel also praised Town Attorney Stephen F. Kiely, who he said “showed great perseverance. He was fair-minded and showed a very reasonable approach to helping us build a consensus among all the parties who had slightly different points of view about how this all should be done.”
He described Gooding as “the person the family is most grateful for. Gordon has been a good friend. He’s been a relentless advocate for this deal. He simply would not let it die when other people were very pessimistic. So we owe a great debt of gratitude to Gordon and the members of the CPF.”
Freyvogel reminded the board and those in attendance that the approval resolution is not the end of the matter, as certain details remain to be ironed out with the Town Planning Board.
How will the public use the property?
In the resolution, the Town Board noted it has “determined that this acquisition is the best alternative for the protection of community character of all the reasonable alternatives available to the Town, namely passive recreational use.”
Gooding explained that the White subdivision already had reserved areas held collectively by lot owners, where development is prohibited, including an area along the access road, known as Artists Way. Thanks to an easement, parking will be allowed in a defined area along that road, just off Menantic.
Easements have been secured that allow access to the new publicly-owned areas along the shoreline via a walking trail, he said.
“Our goal here is for passive use,” Gooding said, noting that trails already exist, so no additional clearing is required to make the lots accessible. Once on the shoreline, the “vistas over Shell Beach are magnificent.” Due to the long shoreline, the area is also accessible via kayak and other paddle craft.
‘This is the best thing we could’ve ever done,” Gooding said. “It’s precious.”
Kiely explained that while no development can take place on the land, Suffolk County has retained five development rights that it will transfer to its community workforce housing program. The Town is currently investigating the option of using transfer of development rights (TDR), as a way to enable more than one unit of Community Housing to be built in places where zoning permits only single-family residences.
Tuesday’s acquisition resolution replaced an earlier resolution that the Town Board adopted on October 22, 2021, which did not specifically mention the White property but laid out general terms of cooperation between the Town and County.
Gooding said the White family came to Shelter Island over 100 years ago. Artist Nelson White is among three generations of creative family members who have loved the place. His grandfather, Henry C. White, purchased the land along West Neck Creek, where the Connecticut-based family stayed in rustic cabins.
The CPF’s historian, Edward Shillingburg, is researching the history of the property, Gooding said, as he’s done with so many CPF preserves. This will result in information that will be added to the CPF webpage, where you can read about the Town’s other open space preserves.
Among the property’s primary appeals, Gooding said, the site is 100 percent wooded, well maintained, and practically free of invasive growth. That means maintenance “will be minimal, at best.” What’s more, he said, the land can provide an estimated 20.7 million gallons of aquifer recharge annually, or about 8 percent of the estimated residential water usage.
“It’s a win-win-win for everybody,” said Councilman Jim Colligan. “Thank you for hanging in there for this thing. It is a major step forward for us.”
