A Billion-Dollar Idea

20 years, $1.2 billion and more than 10,000 acres later, we investigate the success of the Community Preservation Fund (CPF).

First, what’s the Community Preservation Fund?

The CPF is a program that protects land and water to preserve the integrity of communities on the East End of Long Island. It’s funded by a 2% tax paid by real estate purchasers, and over the course of its 20-year history, it has generated more than $1.2 billion.

Let’s back up. How did it all begin?

In the 1990s, after the environment had been under siege for decades, elected officials and community members banded together in search of a solution. New York State Assemblyman Fred Thiele had drafted a bill ten years prior, the first version of the CPF, that he still believed could be a viable solution. “A coalition came together, which I was part of at the time. The coalition was inclusive of small business owners and members of the real estate community, working across party lines. We worked with [The Nature Conservancy’s] Kevin McDonald, who I consider to be a major player in this.”

The coalition focused on gaining support for the bill, especially in the sectors that were initially opposed to it. Paul Brennan, Long Island realtor and conservationist, remembers, “Builders wanted to keep building and realtors wanted values to keep appreciating. They didn’t want anything that would present an obstacle to those two things. But if we could keep the character, prices would appreciate that much more.” Fred Stelle, an architect, coalition member and champion of the cause explained, “Preserving open space has so many benefits, not the least of which is keeping the spirit and the essence of this place that I live and love. That group cared about the place we live as much as any group.” The best part? The coalition really worked. The team gained support from local realtors and builders, as well as from farmers, after adding CPF language prioritizing farmland protection.