Land Partnership Is Funded

After hearing pleas from a variety of speakers - including East End officials, environmentalists, and Long Island's largest business group, the Long Island Association - the Suffolk Legislature this week agreed to appropriate $5 million for what County Executive Robert J. Gaffney has described as a "Preservation Partnership" to save land from development.

The money will serve as a "key to future partnership activities between Suffolk County, New York State, and our East End towns," commented Legislator George O. Guldi of Westhampton Beach after the unanimous vote for the appropriation.

An Investment

Mr. Gaffney unveiled his partnership plan two years ago, stressing then that "Suffolk County has been a national leader in environmental preservation for a number of years. We should view our obligation to preserve our natural environment as an investment in 'green in fra struc ture.'"

He proposed the county allocate $5 million annually for the partnership and, outlining it, said, "Recognizing the fiscal constraints that all levels of government face today, while at the same time noting the pressure on development of open space, we must combine our economic resources . . . ."

"Working cooperatively with our towns we can share costs and attempt to leverage state and Federal funding for future land preservation initiatives," he said.

Legislature Balked

However, the Suffolk Legislature, dominated by representatives of western Suffolk, some of whom have been critical of open space and farmland preservation, balked at accepting the program.

A change in the proposed process for spending the money appropriated for the partnership coupled with continued advocacy of it by Mr. Gaffney, Mr. Guldi, Legislator Michael Caracciolo, and others, finally led to a change in the Legislature's position at the panel's meeting Tuesday in Hauppauge.

The change in process provides that the county planning director go back to the Legislature with any proposed acquisition under the program and for the Legislature to vote on the specific purchase.

The change "is a good compromise," commented Paul Sabatino 2d, counsel to the Legislature.

Among the East End officials speaking out for the partnership at the legislative session Tuesday were Southampton Town Supervisor Vincent Cannuscio and Town Councilman Patrick (Skip) Heaney.

Two years ago, the entire Southampton Town Board, in an extraordinary appearance - the first time in memory that the whole Southampton Board had appeared anywhere to lobby on behalf of the town - went before the Suffolk Legislature to urge support for the Gaffney partnership.

Other East End officials going before the Legislature this week seeking support for the partnership were Southold Town Supervisor Jean Cochran and Riverhead Town Supervisor Jim Stark.

An Important Resource

Environmentalists on hand included Kevin McDonald, vice president of the Group for the South Fork, and Joshua Klainberg, political coordinator of the New York League of Conservation Voters.

"The East End represents a resource as important to the banker in Huntington, teacher in Babylon, or government worker in Islip as to a fifth-generation farmer or marine operator in Southold or Southampton," testified Mr. Klainberg.

"In the 1996 election," he continued, "voters in five East End towns supported town, county, and state environmental referenda. . . . Clearly, the people of the East End know the value of farmland and open space preservation and are willing to put their money where their mouths are to preserve it."

Important To Economy

"Suffolk County should do its part by matching town land preservation funds in a collaborative partnership with these local governments. Every county resident will benefit if you do," Mr. Klainberg said.

The Long Island Association, in backing the partnership, issued a statement to the Legislature stating, "In our view, there is no better way to spend our limited resources than to preserve and protect the beautiful landscape which we all call home here in Suffolk County."

"The protection of our land in appropriate places is as important to the economic development of our county as anything else we can do."