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Home My WebLink AboutLP-06/03/2025 LAND PRESERVATION COMMITTEE MEETING Minutes & Discussion Notes from Meeting held Tuesday, June 3, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. This Regular Meeting was held in the Annex Executive Board Room, located on the 2nd floor at Southold Town Hall Annex, 54375 Route 25(Main Road), Southold, New York. The public had access to view and listen to the meeting as it was happening via Zoom. If an attendee did not have access to a computer or smartphone, there was an option to listen in via telephone. Comments from the public may not be solicited nor received without an appointment. It is expected that the Committee will enter into Executive Session*at some point after opening the Regular Meeting for the purpose of discussing applications regarding proposed acquisitions of real property where publicity would substantially affect the value thereof. The public is not allowed to attend, view, or listen to Executive Session. Options for public attendance: • To join via computer: https:Hus06web.zoom.us/u/84583757858?pwd=InJeOQ1 rtzpTBGvoE60KmylJvUJTeH.1 Passcode:261992 *A note that "This meeting has been locked by Host" indicates that the Committee has entered into Executive Session. Or Online at the website zoom.us, click"Join a Meeting" and enter the Webinar ID: 845 8375 7858 Passcode: 261992 • Or One tap mobile : +16465588656„84583757858#,,,,*261992# US (New York) +16469313860„84583757858#,,,,*261992# US • Or Telephone: Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) +1 646 931 3860 US +1 309 205 3325 US +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 305 224 1968 US +1 507 473 4847 US +1 564 217 2000 US +1 669 444 9171 US +1 689 278 1000 US +1 719 359 4580 US +1 720 707 2699 US (Denver) +1 253 205 0468 US +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 360 209 5623 US +1 386 347 5053 US Webinar ID: 845 8375 7858 Passcode: 261992 International numbers available: https:Hus06web.zoom.us/u/kedMRcF8Gg Members Present: Sam McCullough Anne Murray Doris McGreevy Eric Keil Members Absent: Kim Krupski Will Lee Also Present: Anne Smith, Town Board Liaison Lillian McCullough, Land Preservation Executive Assistant Cathy Kreshon, Land Preservation Committee Secretary Present as Attendee: Connie Cross Zack Nicholson Benja Schwartz (on ZOOM 7:31) Commencement • All "Attendees" will be dismissed from this meeting upon the Committee's Motion to enter into Executive Session. • The meeting began at 7:04 p.m. with 4 LPC members present. Committee Minutes and Administration • Acceptance of LPC meeting minutes from May 20, 2025 Tabled until a quorum of Committee members eligible to approve these minutes is achieved. • Next LPC Meeting Date: June 17, 2025 General Preservation • None Inquiries/Applications for Uses or Structures on Preserved Property • James E. Cross Trust SCTM #1000-109.-1-8.8 Request to Construct Employee Apartments (As Built) Lilly reviewed the property's history, the landowner's request to review as-built studio apartments in a former agricultural storage barn, and the relevant easement language. The former storage barn now consists of 2 studio apartments, one of which has a loft; 3 bathrooms; and an employee washroom/breakroom. The entire property is subject to the easement, and the easement limits use of the property exclusively to agricultural production. The landowner was present, and the Committee members asked her questions about the apartments, including how the landowner intends to use them, the building's historic use, and how these apartments were created. The landowner stated that she intends to use the apartments to house 2 nursery employees out of a total staff of 12. She stated that no one is currently living in the apartments, but that two employees lived there during the Covid pandemic, after they had been evicted. She stated that the barn was informally occupied as labor housing on and off before she renovated it, and that the internal walls were there already. She renovated the interior and added dormer entryways, as well as an additional septic ring. She admitted nothing was permitted by the Building Department or other relevant authorities, but stated that it is all "up to code." The Committee members asked the landowner about any historical evidence that the building was used as labor housing when the Town purchased the easement, including surveys, receipts, or other documentation from that time. The landowner stated the information was over 50 years old and would be difficult to find. The Committee directed the landowner and Lilly to find what they can. The Committee members declined to make a decision regarding the use's consistency with the easement until they received more information from the landowner about the building's use at the time the Town purchased development rights. Some Committee members expressed skepticism that these apartments serve as labor housing given the apartments' interior, or that the use was known at the time the Town purchased the easement where the landowner represented the building was only a storage barn and employee breakroom during a 2024 monitoring visit. Committee members noted that the landowner may have reused materials from other renovations, and that a lot of farmland historically had off-the- books labor housing. The Committee members reiterated that it is the landowner's responsibility to demonstrate that the building was historically used as farm labor housing and that the Town was aware of that use at the time it purchased development rights before the Committee can complete its review. Stewardship and Management • None Land Preservation Applications & Potential Applications: • EXECUTIVE SESSION- Proposed Acquisitions of Real Property Where Publicity Would Substantially Affect the Value Thereof MOTION made by Eric Keil, seconded by Sam McCullough, to enter into EXECUTIVE SESSION. Motion carried: 4/0 The LPC members entered into EXECUTIVE SESSION at 7:43 p.m. Meeting locked. o Lillian McCullough, Land Preservation Executive Assistant— Inquiries, new applications, appraisals and current applications MOTION made by Sam McCullough, seconded by Eric Keil, to exit Executive Session. Motion carried: 4/0 EXECUTIVE SESSION ENDED at 8:27 p.m. Land Preservation Applications & Potential Applications -OPEN SESSION • None Adjournment: MOTION made by Eric Keil, seconded by Anne Murray, to adjourn this meeting. Motion carried: 4/0 The meeting ended at 8:27 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Cathy Kreshon, Land Preservation Committee Secretary