Funds OKd for Westhampton land purchase

The Southampton Town board has unanimously approved the purchase of land in Westhampton through its Community Preservation Fund.

The purchase is for 29 acres of a 32-acre property, known locally as the Baily’s Motel property, on Montauk Highway. The measure passed 5-0.

The $6 million cost will be split with Suffolk County through the county’s “Pay As You Go Drinking Water Protection Program,” a preservation fund used to protect drinking water. The land has been targeted as a wetlands preservation area.

Southampton Town describes the land as a “rich assemblage and complex variety of wetlands,” with marshes, creeks, ponds and “a multitude of natural functions and values, making them essential to maintaining the ecology and biodiversity of the Town.”

The Community Preservation Fund was created by the state for East End towns to raise money to acquire ecologically important land before it’s sold to developers. The Southampton Town board recently authorized $30 million in bonds to pay for land now while it is less expensive and available.