Suffolk County Launches Working Waterfront Preservation Program Web Page under IR 1520

Suffolk County Economic Development unveiled a new working waterfront web page today as the public hub for IR 1520, the county law creating Chapter 26 of the Suffolk County Code to conserve working waterfronts for aquaculture, commercial fishing, boating and recreation. The page accompanies a voluntary program that allows property owners to sell future development rights to the county through conservation easements.

IR 1520 was unanimously passed by the Suffolk County Legislature on Sept. 3 and was initiated by County Executive Ed Romaine, who signed the bill at a public ceremony at the Greenport railroad dock attended by dozens of maritime business owners and local politicians. Romaine said, “We need working waterfronts to encourage those in the oyster business, to encourage those growing kelp, to encourage those who are fishing - all those who earn their living by the sea. If we do not have a working waterfront, if all that land is purchased and used for other things, we’re going to miss out on one of the heritage industries of this county.” Greenport Mayor Kevin Stuessi told the event the village will continue working to conserve its waterfront.

The statute establishes a framework for the County of Suffolk to acquire conservation easements on working waterfront properties and creates a 17-member Working Waterfront Committee to review applications. The committee will apply criteria that include the economic significance of a property to marine businesses; commercial docks, marinas, fish packing, marine repair, oyster farming, kelp growing and recreational boating are among the uses the law protects.

Commissioner of Economic Development & Planning Sarah Lansdale presented a county survey showing the program’s scale: “the county has found that ‘there are 2,400 acres of waterfront commercial properties that comprise of 964 parcels’.” WLIW reports the county has committed $9.5 million for the program from 2026 through 2028, with $2.5 million allocated for 2026.

East End Legislators Ann Welker and Catherine Stark shepherded the bill alongside commercial fishermen, baymen and oyster farmers in a Working Waterfront Group modeled after Maine’s 2008 coastline protections and Suffolk’s own Farmland Preservation program, which has preserved more than 10,000 acres. Welker called the measure “the first of its kind in the State of New York” that “will be groundbreaking in preserving 1,000 miles of bays, creeks and harbors for people who work the waterfront,” and said, “I was delighted to be on board. And knowing that we had the support of Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, just made it be something that was impossible not to associate myself with, and work as hard and as quickly as possible to get this across the finish line, so that it will be in place in January of 2026.” Welker added that officials are still organizing meetings and that stakeholders should “keep your eyes on us for the new year because there’s going to be a lot of exciting work” to preserve Suffolk’s maritime industries.