Brookhaven acquires 65-acre tract for preservation in the pine barrens

A development firm has dropped plans to build more than 100 homes on wooded property in Yaphank and donated the land to the Town of Brookhaven, which will preserve it as open space, officials said.

The 65-acre property -- on the northeast corner of the Long Island Expressway and Sills Road -- is the first parcel acquired by Brookhaven in a 3,875-acre area that was added two years ago to the state-protected pine barrens conservation zone, officials said.

State and town officials said preserving the property will help protect the environmentally sensitive Carmans River watershed from residential sewage discharges. Brookhaven adopted a plan two years ago to protect the watershed through stringent zoning and land purchases along the 10-mile river.

Before the state and town laws were adopted, Enchanted Forest II LLC had planned to build as many as 136 single-family homes on the site. The company agreed to drop that plan and give the land to Brookhaven in exchange for credits that may be used to develop property outside the pine barrens' 60,000-acre core preservation area, officials said.

"This site happens to be within the newly expanded core preservation area, so it's key to preserving the Carmans River," said John W. Pavacic, executive director of the state Central Pine Barrens Commission, which monitors land usage in the pine barrens. "There will not be any discharges on the properties from any residential developments. The habitat will be protected."

Enchanted Forest officials could not be reached for comment.

In a statement, Brookhaven Supervisor Edward P. Romaine said: "Expanding the core needed to be done, and by removing the development rights from this property, we are seeing the benefit of that action. . . . We've taken a big step in our efforts to protect the river and our groundwater for generations to come."

Building houses at the site "would have been undesirable residential development in close proximity to the river," town land management specialist John Turner said.

The property is the second Yaphank site acquired by Brookhaven in just more than a year. In October 2014, the town paid $12 million to buy a 120-acre property near Sills Road where developers had planned a 622-unit retirement complex.

Both properties will be opened to the public for hiking, Turner said. Visitors will see wildlife such as owls, deer, woodpeckers, rabbits and box turtles, and oak and pitch pine trees, he said.

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.