Town closes on preservation of about 70 acres in Moriches, Center Moriches

The Town of Brookhaven has closed on the preservation of nearly 70 acres of wooded property in Moriches and Center Moriches, according to Councilman Dan Panico.

In a Facebook post Thursday, Panico said the properties were preserved at no cost to taxpayers. Instead, the town used its land use authority to work the landowner, who plans to build additional townhomes on the Pine Hills golf course in Manorville. The owner also will pay for and construct improvements, including an entrance and exit to Jerusalem Hollow Road between Wading River Road and the Sunrise Service Road.

The properties include:

• Nearly 10 acres of wooded properties across from the Moriches Bay Diner.
• The wooded properties in between Frowein Road and Montauk Highway.
• Nearly 13 acres of the remaining wooded property from the Moriches Bay Recreation Center west to the corner of Moriches Middle Island Road.
• The unpreserved parcels on the east side of Moriches Middle Island Road going up to the Moriches Athletic Complex.
• Roughly 31 acres along the Sunrise Highway, wrapping around Jerusalem Hollow Road down to Moriches Middle Island Road.
• 6 acres north of Sunrise Highway and west of Moriches Middle Island Road across from the entrance to Eastport South Manor Junior-Senior High School.

“Over the last couple of years we have successfully worked to re-zone from Moriches all the way through Eastport,” Panico said. “We have preserved hundreds of acres of open space and farmland, created a new zoning category for our golf courses so they remain golf courses, created a new zoning category for our marinas, and have now successful worked to ensure that all of the wooded properties above, that all could have been cleared and developed, remain wooded to preserve the character of the community and environment into the future.”

Panico added that advertising billboards on the properties will come down in a couple of years, once their leases expire.

https://moriches.greaterlongisland.com/2019/02/03/moriches-community-center-celebrates-grand-opening/