Nearly 85 acres of prime Riverhead farmland to be preserved by county

Nearly 85 acres of prime agricultural land off Roanoke Avenue north of Joyce Drive will be preserved through the Suffolk County farmland preservation program.

The acreage, totaling 92.33 acres, is owned and farmed by the Anderson family of Riverhead. It will be subdivided to create four farm lots totaling 84.7 acres that will be preserved by the county’s purchase of development rights , and two four-acre building lots, which each may be developed with a single-family home. The land, located on the east side of Roanoke Avenue within the town’s Agricultural Protection Zoning Use District, produces a variety of field crops, including corn, cabbage and an assortment of other vegetables and fruits.

The county and the landowners agreed on the terms of sale and contracts were prepared and approved by the county attorney, according to two resolutions on the County Legislature’s meeting agenda Aug. 5. The total purchase price for development rights on the 84.7 acres, pursuant to an appraisal obtained by the county’s real estate department, is just over $5.6 million. The resolutions were tabled pending approval of the subdivision by the Riverhead Town Planning Board.

The Planning Board is currently processing two minor subdivisions of the property, held as two separate but contiguous lots in single and separate ownership.  The board on Thursday scheduled public hearings on the subdivision applications for Sept. 18 at 3 p.m.

Suffolk’s farms help to anchor the tourism economy, employ more than 4,600 people, and generate $226 million in sales annually, according to the county, which created the nation’s first Farmland Purchase of Development Rights Program in 1974. Since then, the county has preserved roughly 11,000 acres of agricultural land independently and another 9,000 acres through partnerships with land trusts and local municipalities.

The funding for the purchase of development rights from the 85 acres owned by the Andersons is sourced from the Preserving Farmland for the Future Fund, appropriated over the past four fiscal years from Suffolk County serial bonds. The county pays this debt out of its quarter-percent sales tax revenues, of which 31.1% is directed to environmental protection, including farmland preservation. 

The County Legislature last year authorized appraisals of the farmland and negotiations with the owners. The county’s farmland committee last year authorized the acquisition of the farmland. Resolutions of the County Legislature, introduced by the presiding officer at the request of County Executive Ed Romaine and County Legislator Catherine Stark were introduced earlier this year.