Trust Buys Big Tract
The Peconic Land Trust's recent purchase of land on Accabonac and Springs-Fireplace Roads, long owned by the Potter family, will preserve almost 100 acres of woodland in an important water-recharge area.
East Hampton Town Councilman Job Potter and his sisters, Madeleine Potter of Amagansett and Gayle Potter Basso of Heber, Ariz., sold the land, three parcels totaling 94.6 acres, to the trust for a price of $1.6 million on Jan. 15.
The land lies to the north of Abraham's Path and to the west of Accabonac Road, where East Hampton, Amagansett, and Springs converge. To the south and east lie the beginnings of the Bistrian family's Stony Hill golf course.
County Wanted It
The property was included almost a decade ago on a Suffolk County "wish list" of properties to be preserved, said John Halsey, president of the Land Trust.
It is primarily oak forest, with some beech trees, atop the glacial moraine.
The three parcels were purchased by Mr. Potter's parents, Jeffrey Potter and the late Penelope Bradford Potter, in the 1950s. The land could have supported 37 house lots, Mr. Potter said.
His mother donated development rights on one seven-acre parcel to East Hampton Town in the late 1970s. The family filed a subdivision waiver application for the remaining land, but never completed it.
An anonymous donor provided the Peconic Land Trust with the money to acquire the parcels - "part gift and part loan," said Mr. Halsey. The deal took about a year to complete.
"We're very pleased," he said, and "I know the Potters are pleased."
"It's a win-win situation."
Large Holdings
The transaction is treated as a charitable donation by the Internal Revenue Service. The brother and sisters will receive a tax deduction based on the difference between the purchase price and the assessed value of the land on the open market, said Mr. Halsey, who called the price a "bargain."
"We were happy with what we got for it," said Mr. Potter. "We didn't want to see it developed."
The acquisition gives the Land Trust a substantial presence in the area.
Its holdings and conservation easements include the Deborah Ann Light Preserve, 200 acres on both sides of Town Lane in Amagansett, and easements over at least 130 acres, including the Potters' Stony Hill Farm, also off Town Lane.
Link To Paumanok?
There are several trails across the newly acquired land. Two contiguous pieces just south of the former town dump, running through from Accabonac to Springs-Fireplace Road, could provide a trail linkup to the Paumanok Path, which when completed will extend from Rocky Point to Montauk.
Plans for a nearby section of Paumanok Path call for walkers emerging from Cross Highway onto Springs-Fireplace Road to head south on the paved road, skirt the East Hampton Town Recycling Center through a strip of woods, and link up to a trail heading south from town-owned Accabonac Road land.
Walkers Benefit
The trail then turns toward Abraham's Path, and would join a proposed segment through the farmland north of Town Lane.
An alternate option would allowwalkers to enter the Potter land fronting on Springs-Fireplace Road, emerge at Accabonac Road, and continue to Stony Hill Road across the street. Connections could then be made to the Archery Trail and the George Sid Miller Trail, which heads toward Amagansett's Fresh Pond.
The East Hampton Town Board and the East Hampton Trails Preservation Society, which would maintain the trails, are negotiating agreements with the landowners involved.