With open space a priority, and every small parcel in the area being filled, the press of development on the north shore is galloping along. Lisa Ott, executive director of the North Shore Land Alliance (NSLA) appeared before the Muttontown Village Board to suggest they act to preserve their remaining open space and to invite a Muttontown resident to join her board. She said, "Muttontown has the blessing of great expanses of remaining open space and the burden of making the right decisions about what to do with it."

The NSLA is a not for profit group committed to preserve and protect open space. She said, "I hope we can help your village to preserve open space. In my most recent career, that of being a mom and a perpetual volunteer - I've done a lot of driving. For the last 18 years I have watched one beautiful open field after another fall to development. It has saddened me as much as I am sure it has you because it is literally changing the face of where we live."

She said, "With excessive development, our roads become more crowded, our water supply is jeopardized and our taxes have to go up to support the increased population. It is a fact documented by the State of New York that property taxes do not fully support the cost of development so, the burden goes to the town and the villages forcing them to raise taxes. And if we change the face of where we live too much - it will be a less desirable place to live, thus reducing our property values."

The NSLA was formed early last year, she said. The founding members were Carter Bales and Larry Schmidlapp of the Center Island Land Trust; Rosemary Bourne and John Bralower of the Oyster Bay Cove Land Trust; along with Julie and Luis Rinaldini of Old Westbury. "They saw the need for conservation to be much greater than they as volunteers could handle," she said. The board, she said, is composed of well respected community leaders in the villages of their designated area. "We have mayors, trustees, planning board members - all well respected 'good guys', it's neighbors helping neighbors - people you could trust to discuss personal issues like land," she said.

The founding board includes: Robert Berhnard, Port Washington; Daniel P. Davison, Lattingtown; Nancy Douzinas, Lloyd Neck; Ralph Fumante, Oyster Bay Cove Land Trust; Clarence Michalis, Lattingtown; Jonathan Moore, Mill Neck; Paul Rabinovitch, The Nature Conservancy; Patsy Randolph, Oyster Bay Cove; and Helene Suozzi of Glen Cove.

Their advisory board includes experts whose knowledge can further the NSLA mission: Myron Blumenfeld, Ann Cannell, Judith Chapman, Louise Harrison, Peter MacKinnon; Katie Schwab, John Turner, Richard Weir and Tom Zoller. "There is no Muttontown representative. Is anyone interested?" she asked the board.

Ms. Ott said if development continues at the current rate there will be no open space left in as little as three to five years. "With that in mind, these folks saw the need to combine, hire a staff (me), build a board and begin to approach land preservation aggressively and systematically."

Their mission is to preserve in perpetuity the green spaces of the north shore for future generations. The NSLA's designated area runs from the southern boundary of the Northern State Parkway to the shore of Long Island Sound and from the western boundary of Nassau County to the eastern boundary of Brookhaven Township.

Ms. Ott said they want to work with villages and landowners. First they want to educate landowners about ways to protect their lands, including the tax advantages donors receive for conservation. "It can be profitable to preserve open space rather than develop land," she said.

Second, they want to identify important properties that may be in jeopardy and work with villages and local government to secure funds to take them off the market.

Third, they want to provide services to increase the effectiveness of local conservation organizations including the how-tos of conservation easements and gifts of land.

Ms. Ott said small parcels are as welcome as large lots. She said, "It can be as small as a half acre to a 20 acre parcel."

She gave an example of a woman with a 26-acre farm her family has lived on since the '40s. There is an 18th century farm house, a 200-year-old wisteria and chickens, gardens, ponds and fields. "She is land rich and cash poor. She wants to live out her life there." Working with the NSLT an alternative plan to development has been put together. The property could have been sold for approximately $4 million but it would mean tearing down the historic building. Part of the property will be sold, part of the property will be donated to the NSLA and the heirs can in the future decide to sell two acre lots in the back of the site. The entire financial package resulted in more than $4 million.

Ms. Ott added, "There are places to raise money to preserve open space; the NSLA will help an owner find those resources."

Muttontown Attorney Peter MacKinnon said, "Lisa finds money. An example of the kind of deal that is possible is what happened on the Underhill site, where the county, town and state found the money to purchase the land. The process also offers tax benefits to the landowner. They donate property to the NSLT and they can take an income tax deduction."

Mayor Murcott said, "People whose property borders the Stevens estate were told by realtors, when they purchased their homes, that it would never be developed. Now there are 80 homes on the site. The developer [Holiday Associates] was not interested in conservation easements. He [Gerald Monter] was intent on developing the site, although he did it as gently as possible. The planning board presently has proposals to develop open space. I don't know how people manage to do it [conservation easements]. They want to get out fast."

Ms. Ott said they would be willing to help any way they could. She said she understood how hard the village worked on the Holiday Associates. "I saw you walking around with the Stevens plans under your arm for many weeks."

She said the NSLA is going to open a website with 10 easy steps landowners and villages can take to preserve their open space.

Ms. Ott said the Village of Huntington has conservation of open space on the fast track. She suggested Muttontown can look at its own rules for conservation, and invited them to attend a symposium on May 11, with speakers from Philadelphia and Charleston who will talk on conservation. It will take place either at Chelsea or East Woods, she said. In September Steven Small will give three seminars. More information will be announced about the programs as the dates near.

Mayor Murcott asked about the feasibility of using cluster zoning.

Ms. Ott said, "When done right, with an educated public, it can be a great use of land."

The mayor recalled the problems Oyster Bay Cove had when proposing cluster zoning on the Pulling Estate. He said, "Oyster Bay Cove killed the concept of cluster zoning for the the last 8 to 10 years. I don't know if any village will have the nerve to bring it up."

[The Pulling estate in Oyster Bay Cove had been studied by Frederic P. Clark Associates, planners, and their suggestion for the property was to use cluster zoning to preserve open space and to allow the development of a subdivision in such a way as to allow proper drainage from the site. The NYS DOT had channeled water from Route 25A into their open fields and the site is hilly. Residents were annoyed that houses, then estimated to be sold for about $400,000 for empty nesters, would require more village services without paying their fair share. The question tumbled the existing board; Michael Peragine was elected mayor. Since that time the village has been struggling with the problem. Most recently the village held a scoping session for the draft environmental impact statement being prepared by Keen Development, the new developers for the Pulling property. The Oyster Bay Cove planning board asked that it include alternate uses of the site, such as using conservation easements to preserve open space.]

At the Muttontown meeting, Ms. Ott said there are other forms of cluster development and that she has contacts with experts who can enlighten people on the concept. She said Muttontown is blessed with open spaces. They have already made hard decisions on the Stevens property, St. Dominic's Fields, Chelsea Center and Muttontown Hall. They still face what will happen on two large parcels, the Hall property that abuts the Muttontown Preserve and Calumet Farms on Northern Boulevard. She offered help to the village and said, "Congratulations on what you have done. And a closing note: as Will Rogers said, 'Open land, they ain't making any more.'"

Her hard copy to the board included a request that they continue to investigate all options before approving conventional subdivision applications. That they please call on the NSLA or like-minded organizations to help educate their residents, find alternative methods of financing for them and/or act as a voice for conservation whereever they can be helpful.

She added, "Please make conservation easier for the good citizens of your village," and ended with, "We would love a Muttontown board member."

Highway Commissioner Raz Tafuro said, "We have done a lot in preserving open space and sumps, which are open space, in the Stevens property." Trustee Russell Corker said, "You can always do more."

Mr. Tafuro added that while the village tries to slow development to preserve open space, across Jericho Turnpike, the Town of Oyster Bay has approved developing the old horse farm and will put 30 homes on the site.

Ms. Ott said, "We should have started earlier. We're late coming to the game."

The mayor said there are still open space properties available in their village.

Muttontown attorney Peter MacKinnon added that with open space of 4 to 5 acres with a pond, the landowner can get a scenic easement. With several small parcels you can get a continuous greenbelt. Trustee Edwin Henn said the DEC also has money to preserve open space.

Planning Board member Julianne Beckermann said they currently have several properties before it, including one with 25 acres and one with 10 acres, that could be candidates for preservation. She also expressed an interest in serving on the NSLA board.

Mayor Murcott mentioned that Mr. MacKinnon is on the NSLT advisory board.