news	« main articles
Updated: October 28, 2008, 2:19 pm	Share    Print    Email

The East Hampton Town Board voted in favor of the joint purchase after a public hearing held Aug. 14. The town’s $6 million portion will be drawn from the Community Preservation Fund (CPF), a two percent tax on real estate sales reserved for the conservation of open space and historic landmarks. Photo by Aaron Boyd

Montauk - The acquisition of the 77 acres of Montauk moorlands, currently owned by former television talk show personality Dick Cavett, has been approved by the Suffolk County Legislature, the third and final partner to green light the joint $18 million purchase.

The Cavett property is a three-way acquisition between the Town of East Hampton, Suffolk County and New York State. Each party will be responsible for a third of the $18 million price tag, as well as an equal share of the closing costs.

The State of New York considers the Cavett property an "exciting acquisition," according to State Senator Ken LaValle (R-1st District). The state will be paying their $6 million portion from the Environmental Protection Fund. The funding has already been allocated, LaValle assured, and the purchase will not be affected by discussions of state-level budget cuts. "This is an important property," LaValle asserted, commenting that, for the state's part, the acquisition has been moving forward smoothly.

The East Hampton Town Board voted in favor of the joint purchase after a public hearing held Aug. 14. The town's $6 million portion will be drawn from the Community Preservation Fund (CPF), a two percent tax on real estate sales reserved for the conservation of open space and historic landmarks.

The County Legislature delayed approving the acquisition, as some members viewed purchasing land during difficult economic times as bad policy and questioned whether the acreage was worth their $6 million share. However, the legislature voted 12 to 6 in favor of the land deal on Oct. 14, to be paid out of a county wide one-quarter percent sales tax used for land preservation. Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy signed the resolution on Friday, Oct. 24, securing the final consent of all three parties involved.

With all three buyers on board, East Hampton's Department of Land Acquisition will move forward by certifying the proper land surveys and executing the final title work by the Dec. 31 deadline. Director of Land Acquisition Scott Wilson asserted that although time was short, there are no major obstacles left to prevent the deal from being finalized.

The parcel spans 77 acres of oceanfront bluffs and wetlands situated between Camp Hero State Park, Theodore Roosevelt County Park, and Amsterdam Beach - a 122-acre parcel acquired by the Town, County and State in 2005. The Cavett acquisition will connect all of these preserved properties, creating 265 acres of continuous conservation lands.

As a whole, the 265 acres of what is known as the Montauk Moorlands have been gradually collected for conservation by government agencies over the past 20 years, according to Nancy Kelley, executive director of The Nature Conservancy on Long Island, the organization given charge over the parks. The Cavett property is to be preserved as undeveloped open space, along with the adjacent lands managed by the Nature Conservancy, according to Erik Kulleseid, deputy director for land acquisition for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.