Suffolk County open-space deal for South Jamesport farmland falls through

A planned Suffolk County preservation deal for 9.6 acres at 1161 Peconic Bay Boulevard collapsed after the property owner told the county real estate division late Wednesday that it was no longer interested in selling the land for open-space protection. County Executive Ed Romaine said Suffolk would remain open to future discussions, but for now the Peconic Farms parcel is off the table.

The breakdown left a North Fork land dispute unresolved and raised the stakes for South Jamesport. The parcel sits between a residential subdivision and the town boat ramp, and it borders town-owned land along East Creek, but it has no direct waterfront access. County officials had pushed for passive recreation uses, including a walking trail and a gravel parking area. Riverhead Town officials and nearby residents resisted that approach, warning that the site could become a de facto beach-access destination and bring traffic, disruption and maintenance costs to a quiet residential stretch.

Riverhead Town Board members drew a hard line on May 6, unanimously approving a resolution supporting preservation only “as Open Space without improvement or development.” Town leaders had already signaled they preferred a development-rights purchase rather than an outright county acquisition, because that would keep the land in farm use instead of converting it into county parkland. The dispute also exposed a practical obstacle: Suffolk’s open-space ranking system gives substantial weight to intermunicipal partnerships, so Riverhead’s refusal to back a recreational management plan may have weakened the parcel’s standing for county funding.

The property’s future has been closely watched since the Riverhead Planning Board granted preliminary approval for a four-lot subdivision on Sept. 4, 2025, after previously approving a six-lot subdivision in November 2023. Neighbors had opposed the development in hearings, citing the site’s low elevation, floodplain location and existing flooding problems. Those concerns helped make the conservation fight about more than one parcel; they also reflected the pressure on North Fork land where farms, housing and drainage concerns collide.

Suffolk County says it has preserved more than 50,000 acres since the late 1950s through its open-space program and farmland protection efforts, much of it funded by the Drinking Water Protection Program. In April 2024, Romaine signed legislation appropriating $15 million for farmland development-rights purchases and said the county was in a struggle against development. For South Jamesport, the failed deal means one more patch of farmland remains vulnerable unless a new agreement emerges before subdivision advances further.