Southampton Town Board To Buy, Preserve Property Above Speonk Plume

The Southampton Town Board agreed Tuesday to purchase a nearly 15-acre swath of undeveloped land on the western side of North Phillips Avenue in Speonk for $1.2 million.

The property—which has a long history of being targeted by its current owner, developer Barry Bernstein, who hoped to build a subdivision there—will be purchased using Community Preservation Fund revenues. The land, situated above an estimated two-mile-long plume of groundwater pollution from a neighboring property, will be preserved as open space, according to CPF Manager Mary Wilson.

As part of the agreement, the 12.15 development rights that the town acquires from the property would be extinguished, preventing the town from transferring those rights to another development in the future—a move that pleased development-shy members of the community.

Craig Catalanotto, a Speonk resident and the co-chair of the CAC-West, applauded the board’s intended purchase during a public hearing at the beginning of the night.

“We are in favor of the CPF purchase of 95 North Phillips,” Mr. Catalanotto said, referring to the CAC-West and the Speonk-Remsenburg Civic Association.

He also stressed the importance of extinguishing the development rights—otherwise, a developer could use them to increase density on another parcel within the Remsenberg-Speonk School District.

“It’s a little concerning because, through prior discussions here, we know that other developers are looking at parcels to increase density, and they will sniff out those development credits,” Mr. Catalanotto noted. “I think, from a community standpoint, it would be ideal if they could be extinguished.”

Mr. Bernstein, who also lives in Speonk, agreed with Mr. Catalanotto that extinguishing the development rights was the best way to go, pointing to several letters sent to the Town Board from community residents in support of the proposal.

Before Mr. Bernstein and the town came to an agreement, the developer tirelessly tried to develop the property. Most recently, the property was targeted for a 13-lot subdivision, known as Serenity Estates. Plans at the time called for the building of 13 luxury six-bedroom homes on 16 acres that would also feature swimming pools and tennis courts.

Prior to that, Mr. Bernstein floated other unsuccessful proposals for the same property including a plan for 60 condominiums.

The plume of pollution, which begins about one mile north of the intersection of Old Country Road and North Phillips Avenue and extends more than 2,000 feet south of Montauk Highway, was discovered in 2001. The source of the pollution has not been determined.