Community fears impact of farm purchase

Traffic. Taxes. Property values.

Residents at a community meeting in Smithtown had the usual concerns about the impact of a proposed land deal on their secluded neighborhood on the Nissequogue River.

But the object of their worries wasn't a mall or a condominium. It was a farm.

Residents fear that the planned $1.6 million purchase of picturesque Ships Hole Farm by the Peconic Land Trust will lead to heavy farm equipment and school buses rumbling along the narrow roads in their quiet enclave.

About 20 residents brought their concerns Wednesday night to a meeting convened at the property's 1920s farmhouse by the Southampton-based trust, which is seeking community input before deciding the farm's future.

Trust officials faced a barrage of pointed questions; and the lack of specific answers only fed residents' frustration.

"The big question is, 'What's going to happen?' And by their own admission, they haven't decided yet," said Conrad Chayes, 60, a retired Suffolk County legislative aide. "Too many questions remain unanswered."

The trust hopes to buy the 23-acre farm from the Nicodemus family, which has owned it since 1927. The trust recently received a $400,000 state grant toward the purchase. Trust officials say they and the farm owners agreed the deal should be completed by May.

Family spokesman Christopher Nicodemus, 54, of Franconia, N.H., said he doesn't know what will happen if the trust doesn't buy the farm, most of which is restricted from development by Suffolk County's open space protection program. "That's not to say a creative developer might not try to buy it," Nicodemus said in a phone interview before the meeting.

Town and county officials say they support the trust's purchase of Ships Hole, one of the few farms left in Smithtown.

Trust officials Wednesday tried to allay residents' concerns, saying the parcel is too small for a large commercial farm or frequent public events, including those for students on agricultural class trips. A farm tenant now raises chickens and sheep and grows vegetables.

"Our goal is to get it back into some form of agricultural production," trust vice president Tim Caufield told neighbors. He said delivery trucks would use the roads once or twice a week.

Chayes and others peppered trust officials with questions about how the farm would affect home values and the area's owls, deer, foxes and pheasant.

Caufield and project director Stephen Searl said the farm may not hurt property values or wildlife. But resident John Lomos remained skeptical. "How can they not have an environmental impact study?" he said.

Such a study is not required because Ships Hole will remain a farm, town planning director Frank DeRubeis said recently.

Caufield said after the meeting that he was not surprised by the residents' questions.

"It's not uncommon," he said. "It's very legitimate."

Farm facts:

1820. Farm is believed to have been founded.

1927. Nicodemus family buys farm.

1986. Farm owner Richard Nicodemus, seeking to preserve farm from development, sells rights to 20 acres to Suffolk County. Remaining three acres are set aside for potential development.

2005. Richard Nicodemus dies. Farm is transferred to trust controlled by his three children.

2011. Nicodemus family trust agrees to sell farm to Peconic Land Trust.