On November 5, 2002 the five east end Towns voted a 10 year extension of the Community Preservation Fund, open space funding through the 2% real estate sales transfer tax. The Fund already has amassed $100,000,000. The purpose of the Community Preservation Fund is broadly, to preserve community character. The State enabling law (Town Law, Section 64-e) states that preservation of community character shall involve among other activities: “4.(m) preservation of historic places and properties listed on the New York State Register of Historic Places and/or protected under a municipal historic preservation ordinance or law;” The law requires setting up an advisory board to manage the fund and a project plan listing every parcel which is necessary to be acquired in order to protect community character, including historic places and properties, and must include a detailed evaluation of land use alternatives for protection ranging from zoning to reduce density to conservation easements and fee simple purchase.

The Town of Southampton, through its Community Preservation fund, targets Historic Places and Properties as part of its Community Preservation Project Plan. Several years ago the Town purchased the Penny property, containing a mid- Nineteenth Greek Revival house on Montauk Highway in Hampton Bays. The Hampton Bays Chamber of Commerce and Suffolk County Legislator George Guldi, representing the 1st legislative District, occupy the house under lease from the Town of Southampton. Currently the Southampton Press has reported the Town’s interest in purchasing the Hopping Property, which consists of 6 acres of overgrown meadow and an architecturally significant Greek Revival House constructed in 1842 by Nathaniel Rogers. The property was operated as a hotel from 1885 through the 1940s. In recent years the structure has served as a residence, with a gas service station on the front lawn. The property is zoned residential and enjoys an anchor location on Montauk Highway at the entrance to Bridgehampton. Because the asking price of the property exceeds appraised value, and the town by law is restricted from paying more, it is seeking interested private contributors to make the project economically viable. Thus far $420,000 has been raised of the $600,000 needed to meet the asking price.

Southold has adopted a Community Preservation Fund Project plan pursuant to the law. Within this are a list of historic properties targeted for purchase. The list is known colloquially as the “SPLIA list” since the survey from which the list is derived was conducted by SPLIA in the 1970s. Of concern are the management and reuse issues attendant in purchasing standing structures. Since 1983 Southold has also authorized local bond issues for open space and agricultural preservation. In 1997, Fort Corchaug, a prehistoric archaeological site, with no above ground features, was purchased. The Town has funded an interpretive center at the site for educational purposes.

In the past two years, the Town of Huntington has broadened the scope of its open space purchases to include two parcels with historic houses. The first open space parcel purchased through the Town’s Environmental Open Space and Park Improvement Fund (EOSPA), in 2000, is a five acre working farm known as Manor Farm, or the Robertson-Becker farm. The property contains a c. 1830 farmhouse, several undated 19th century barns and agricultural structures, as well as a warren of non-historic pigeon and chicken coops. The Towns initial purpose in buying the parcel was to add to the Suffolk County Berkeley Jackson Park and to create a trailhead. Fully aware of the stewardship needs of the parcel’s historic structures, the Town hired a consultant specializing in historicpreservation to develop a preservation plan, to oversee removal of modern additions and substandard structures, to conduct a physical investigation of the farm house and associated outbuildings, and to guide future restoration.

The second open space purchase in June, 2002 was the Ezra Carll House and its small .4 acre parcel now deemed Huntington’s first historic park. The Ezra Carll house was constructed about 1740 and is designated a Huntington Town Landmark as well as listed on the National Register of Historic Places. One of only four properties in Huntington documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1937, it is the only example on Long Island of a second floor hewn overhang, a Medieval feature rare in a house (end p.3) built as late as 1740. The Town is partnering with the Huntington Historical Society, and the South Huntington Public Library to operate, maintain and interpret the property.

Recently the Peconic Land Trust, a private not-for- profit land preservation and conservation organization based in Southampton, received its first facade easement together with a conservation easement for 15.2 acres of farmland, woodland and wetlands in Jamesport known as “Winds Way”. The facade easement protects a group of architecturally significant buildings including the Greek Revival Wilbur-Fanning House, a mid-Nineteenth century one-room schoolhouse, and the Corwin-Hallock barn. The structures had been moved to the site to save them from demolition. The facade easement, which protects the exterior of the buildings, will be monitored by the Peconic Land Trust.

A large amount of money has been authorized for local parks, open space, and natural resource preservation purposes. An opportunity exists to meld open space and historic preservation goals within these programs. The Community Preservation Fund program in the eastern towns specifically stipulates preservation of historic resources as one of the important factors in preserving community character. The use of these programs for historic preservation purposes appears to be limited. Where such programs have been successful in preserving, finding active uses and responsible management for such structures, examples exist which can serve as models for other Long Island communities.