Riverhead to take first step in preserving 145-acre 4-H camp property in Baiting Hollow

A potential partnership involving Riverhead Town, Suffolk County and Peconic Land Trust could preserve about 145 acres in Baiting Hollow that Nassau County has owned and operated as a 4-H camp for more than a century.

The proposal, outlined during Thursday’s Riverhead Town Board work session, would divide the longtime camp property into several preservation components, with Suffolk County purchasing development rights on portions of the farmland, Peconic Land Trust coordinating the overall acquisition and Riverhead potentially acquiring a section as town open space.

Town officials signaled support for taking a first step quickly, with town counsel saying a resolution could be prepared to authorize an appraisal of the portion that Riverhead might acquire.

“This is really, almost a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the town of Riverhead to acquire a Sound-front parcel with access to the beach,” Suffolk County Legislator Greg Doroski told the board.

The property, known as the Dorothy P. Flint 4-H Camp, has been owned by Nassau County for 101 years. Nassau County now wants to sell it, and preservation advocates told the board that time is short to assemble a deal that would protect as much of the site as possible from future development, Doroski said.

Julie Wesnofske of Peconic Land Trust said the property sits in the middle of a large block of protected land and farmland stretching from Sound Avenue to Long Island Sound, making it especially significant from both an ecological and public-access standpoint.

A land-status map prepared by Peconic Land Trust identifies the parcel at 145.53 acres. Another concept plan shows a proposed Riverhead acquisition area of 36.13 acres, alongside county purchases of development rights on other parts of the property and two small development areas totaling less than four acres.

The town-owned portion under discussion would be acquired as open space, though town officials and the project partners said that does not necessarily mean the land would be left entirely untouched.

During the discussion, Deputy Town Attorney Annemarie Prudenti said the uses allowed on preserved open-space land depend on how the Town Board defines the purpose of the acquisition in its authorizing resolution. Open space can be kept in a natural state, she said, but it can also be improved for public access if that purpose is identified at the outset.

That prompted questions from Councilman Bob Kern, who said he wanted to understand whether the property could support uses such as camping or other recreation that might generate some income for the town while preserving the land.

“I want to make sure that Riverhead can benefit from any moves that we make financially,” Kern said, noting that the parcel is valuable land.

Project supporters cautioned against adding too much complexity to the preservation plan at the outset. Doroski said trying to turn the site into a more active revenue-generating use could jeopardize the broader deal and make preservation harder to achieve.

Still, the discussion suggested board members may want to keep some flexibility in mind if the town ultimately acquires the land.

The financial impact of removing the property from the tax rolls appeared to be less significant than some initially feared. Peconic Land Trust representatives said the property already receives a nonprofit exemption and generates only a small amount of tax revenue, which one speaker estimated at roughly $1,500 a year.

Councilwoman Joann Waski, who said she had worked on the preservation effort for about two years with former Suffolk County Legislator Catherine Stark, urged the board to move quickly.

“I would like to recommend that we move forward with an appraisal immediately,” Waski said. “This is excellent for the town of Riverhead.”

Waski called the preservation opportunity a rare one and said the town would be “foolish” not to pay close attention to it.

Supervisor Jerry Halpin agreed the appraisal should move ahead, and Prudenti said she could prepare a resolution, obtain board signatures and order the appraisal right away, subject to later ratification.

If the deal comes together, Riverhead would gain not only additional preserved land, but the chance to connect its existing preserve on Sound Avenue to the shoreline, Doroski said.

For now, the appraisal will help determine whether the town is prepared to take the next step in what preservation advocates described as an unusually time-sensitive effort to protect one of the last large unpreserved tracts in that area of Baiting Hollow.