Greenport - "New York is one of the few states that haven't been bombed," Hamptons North Fork Realtors Association President (HANFRA) John Nickles said before he handed the microphone to Tom Isles, Suffolk County's Director of Planning. The topic was not war but it may as well have been as the battle to survive in the down market continued over scrambled eggs and coffee at the Townsend Manor Inn in Greenport.

Suffolk County's top planner Tom Isles with HANFRA President John Nickles.

Isles, the county's top appointed official in charge of planning and land acquisition was on hand to discuss land preservation in the down market where developers willing to take a chance on a major subdivision are few and far between. The lack of eager investors has landowners and agents turning to their next best customers, the government, the Peconic Land Trust and the Nature Conservancy, in hopes of making a deal to save the view and halt the development that contributed to the sky high prices of property on the East End in the last two decades.

The unprecedented increase in property values from 1995 to date left many sellers rich and gave rise to the super broker. It has also made the adjustment to the prevailing market more difficult for both buyers and sellers. For agents it is sometimes excruciating.

The rapid and unregulated growth of the county, beginning shortly after World War I, saw the demise of many farms in western Suffolk as farmers sold to developers, giving rise to the subdivisions and strip malls that characterize most of modern suburbia. In 1973, the county began its first efforts at land preservation and long-range planning as the byproducts of rapid, unplanned growth became overwhelming for local officials at all levels.

East Enders came to the forefront in these efforts determined to preserve their rural agrarian heritage. On the South Fork, wealthy homeowners joined forces with neighboring farmers to save the land and to preserve their property values giving rise to the Group for The South Fork in the late 1970s. The Group, now known as the Group for the East End, continues to closely shepherd the environment monitoring of town and planning boards on both the North and South Forks.

While the boom years are fast becoming a distant memory, Isles pointed with pride to the 55,000 acres of open space now in the county's inventory. Not a bad percentage considering there are 500,000 acres of land in the county. The Peconic Land Trust and the Nature Conservancy have also acquired thousands of acres over the last 25 years, staving off development as they created parks and nature trails.

Southold Town Planner Melissa Spiros as she explains the process of selling developments to the assembled real estate agents.

"The town does not want to be a landowner," Southold town planner Melissa Spiro said. "A farmer or other large landowner can sell their development rights and keep their land, or they can sell their development rights, then sell the land to another farmer. The land is also protected by the imposition of agricultural easements regulating its use. It is also possible to subdivide a portion of the land and sell development rights to the rest of the acreage.

"I sold development rights on some of my land to the county during the last bust market in the 1980s," real estate broker and developer Dave Saland of Engle and Volkers recounted. "I was happy to do it."

Against the tide: Efforts to preserve Pike's Farm in Sagaponack continue as realtors advertise for potential buyers.

CPF Coffers At New Low
At the town level, landowners may participate in town programs funded by Community Preservation Funds established in 1998. These funds derive their revenue by collecting a two percent transfer tax from buyers at the closing table each time a property is transferred. These funds have declined dramatically in the last two years since its fate is tied directly to the annual number of real estate sales made in each town.

The decrease in funds has limited each town's ability to purchase development rights. In Southampton Town, the CPF fund topped out at $55 million in 2007. This year Supervisor Linda Kabot is collecting less than $900,000 a month from the CPF. Town officials had hoped to reap at least $1,750,000 to $2 million a month ending the year with $24 million. That projection may not materialize if revenues continued to fall.

"It's a hard time to get funding," John Halsey, president of the Peconic Land Trust comments frequently these days as he tries to continue to make land buys. "It's a good program to participate in," Isles said. "There is no doubt the private buyers are waiting it out," Saland concurred. "The preservation programs look very attractive now."

Nickles rose to addressed the crowd before he turned the meeting over to Isles. "It's not as bad as you think it is," Nickels said. "You have to go back to basics and you have to work hard." Critical of the news media and the role its practitioners are playing in this market, he added, "Don't let the media talk you into negativity. They are hurting us more than anything. Word on the street is things are picking up."