SECTION IV THE PUBLIC COAST 133 Public Access And Recreation INVENTORY AND ANALYSIS The Smithtown waterfront area is characterized by significant open lands and waters with extensive natural and recreational resources unusual for a large suBurBan town. Smithtown Bay, the Nissequogue River, and Stony Brook HarBor comBined with a network of upland parks afford the residents of Smithtown and the region opportunities for extensive public use and enjoyment of the coast. Almost 50% of the waterfront land area is public parkland, including beaches, boating facilities, and natural parks. PuBlic access to the shoreline of the Long Island Sound is also extensive. Of the 3.3 miles of shoreline in the unincorporated area of the Town, 2.7 miles or 75% are publicly owned and accessiBle. Sunken Meadow State Park has 2.4 miles of frontage. The two Town-owned waterfront parks, the Bluff and Callahan’s Beach, have 0.3 miles of frontage on the Sound. The Town also has three beaches (Short Beach, Long Beach, and SchuBert Beach), comprising 1.5 miles of frontage in the Village of Nissequogue. Concerning the tidal portion of the Nissequogue River, 64% (five miles) of the riverbank is in public ownership. These public lands and waters provide for a wide range of public uses, including swimming, boating of all kinds, fishing and shellfishing, hiking, nature viewing and education, passive enjoyment and other active recreation. This wealth of opportunity relies on: the numerous park holdings of the town, state, and county governments; the town and state responsiBilities under the PuBlic Trust Doctrine33; stewardship of natural resources through regulations, education and volunteer activities; and the provision of commercial recreational services. (See figure 4-1 with parks and recreation sites.) 33 The PuBlic Trust Doctrine is the “principle that certain natural and cultural resources are preserved for public use, and that the government owns and must protect and maintain these resources for the public's use” (Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, Wex legal dictionary and encyclopedia. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/puBlic_trust_doctrine). For example, under this doctrine, the government holds title to all suBmerged land under navigable waters. Thus, any use or sale of such land must be in the public interest. 134 Figure 31. Existing Parkland 135 Major Public Parks in Waterfront Area (Ownership) Alfred E. Smith/Sunken Meadow State Park (New York State) 1,380 acres consisting of 7,000 parking stalls, two miles of beach, 3/4-mile boardwalk, golf, trails, and other active and passive recreation activities. The park attracts the 6th highest attendance in the State. A Master plan was completed for the Park in July 2015. Caleb Smith State Park Preserve (New York State) 545 acre nature preserve with pristine freshwater fishing. Nissequogue River State Park (New York State) 159 acres of the former State Hospital grounds, being redeveloped as the Nissequogue River State Park, includes a marina, trails, and soccer fields. Former Kings Park Psychiatric Center lands (New York State) 370 acres of the former KPPC that were transferred to the Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation. Despite the condition of the property and its buildings, the size of the property, its landscape character and some remaining buildings provide suBstantial opportunities for redevelopment for a broad range of recreational, institutional, and cultural uses. Blydenburgh County Park (Suffolk County) 625 acres consisting of a 125-acre pond, trails, and camping. Arthur Kunz County Park (Suffolk County) 60 acres of nature preserve along the River. Fresh Pond greenbelt (Suffolk County) 20 acres of nature preserve. Paul T Given County Park (Suffolk County) 10 acres consisting of a nature preserve with a canoe/kayak launch Sweetbriar Farm (Town) 62 acres including nature preserve and outdoor education amenities Smithtown Landing Country Club (Town) 136 133 acres offering golf, pools, and catering with natural areas along the River Harrison’s Pond Park (Town) 16 acre park that features wetland, upland and a playground Beaches The Town has four beaches: Callahan’s Beach, Short Beach, Long Beach, and SchuBert’s Beach. Cordwood Path Beach does not allow swimming due to water quality conditions but is open. (See Figure 32 Waterfront Parks) Map to be inserted Figure 32. Waterfront Parks 137 Boating Facilities The Town operates one marina (180 slips) at Long Beach in Stony Brook HarBor, two mooring areas (105 moorings in Stony Brook HarBor and 75 at Kings Park Bluff), three boat ramps (Kings Park Bluff, Long Beach, and Long Beach Marina), and one canoe launch site at Landing Ave (Peter Nowick Sr. Memorial) Park. In addition to the Town facilities, the State operates a public marina (138 slips) and boat ramp at Nissequogue River State Park, a canoe launch site at Sunken Meadow State Park, and the County operates a canoe launch site at Paul T. Given County Park. (See figure 4-3 PuBlic Boating Facilities) Smithtown Bay Yacht Club is a private yacht cluB (108 slips) located directly adjacent to the Town of Smithtown Long Beach marina, and an additional 10-20 boats moored in Stony Brook HarBor and off Riviera Drive in San Remo. A limited number of docks accessory to residential uses are located in Stony Brook HarBor and along the Nissequogue River (approximately 12 and 24 respectively). Trails and Paths Trails are an important part of the recreation opportunities provided in the waterfront. The major trail within the waterfront is the Long Island GreenBelt Trail. The 32-mile Greenbelt Trail is considered Long Island’s most significant linear park. It runs from the south shore to the north shore through five state parks, two county parks, SweetBriar Nature Center, and the Smithtown Landing Country Club. Within the waterfront area the GreenBelt Trail generally runs along the Nissequogue River from the center of the Town to the shoreline. In some places, because of gaps in open space, it runs along local streets. The major parks identified above contain hiking, biking and other trails. (See figure 4-4 Trails and Paths). 138 Figure 33. Public Boating Facilities 139 Figure 34. Trails and Paths 140 Public Trust Doctrine The PuBlic Trust Doctrine, part of the Common Law, provides that public trust lands, waters, and living resources in a state are held in trust for the benefit of all of the people, and establishes the right of the public to fully enjoy public trust lands, waters, and living resources for a wide variety of public uses. In New York State, the public trust waters are the waters of the State, and the public trust lands are the lands now or formerly beneath those waters to the high water mark. The living resources inhaBiting or dependent on these lands and waters are also protected by the PuBlic Trust Doctrine. The PuBlic Trust Doctrine is particularly important in establishing the public's right to use and pass over the foreshore of tidal waters. Rivers whose beds and banks are in private ownership may also provide opportunities for public use, including incidental portage on riparian lands, if they are navigable-in-fact. A number of landmark legal cases have confirmed and described the public's rights and the state's responsiBilities with regard to public trust lands and waters. In 1992, the New York State Legislature amended the PuBlic Lands Law codifying, in part, the PuBlic Trust Doctrine. The legislature found that regulation of projects and structures, proposed to be constructed in or over public trust lands and waters, was necessary to responsiBly manage the public's interests in trust lands. The legislature stated that use of trust lands is to be consistent with the public interest in reasonaBle use and responsiBle management of waterways for the purposes of navigation, commerce, fishing, bathing, recreation, environmental and aesthetic protection, and access to the navigable waters and lands underwater. Riparian and littoral property owners have a right to use or cross public trust lands and waters to gain access to navigable waters. However, the method and manner by which they gain access is determined and limited by the effects on the public's rights, local conditions and custom, and applicable state and local regulations. Understanding both what the PuBlic Trust Doctrine says about the rights of the public and the rights of riparian or littoral property owners in general and what the specific history of how public trust lands have been managed along a community's shoreline is critical in managing the waterfront. In the 19th and 20th centuries many grants of public trust lands were made to private interests to promote the commerce of the State and for other purposes. These grants were particularly prevalent in the cities and villages of the state where development was concentrated. In many instances the underwater lands conveyed were suBsequently filled. As a result, a community's current shoreline is often not its original natural shoreline. Since these filled lands were imBued with the public trust and the conveyances were usually less than a fee interest or had conditions attached, certain public rights in these lands may continue to exist. This situation can be particularly useful in obtaining public access and other public benefits as the waterfront uses change or new uses are developed. Also, the state may revoke grants when the uses proposed are not in conformity with the PuBlic Trust Doctrine. 141 PuBlic trust lands in Smithtown The New York State Office of General Services and, on Long Island, towns are generally the custodian of public trust lands. They have records of conveyances and the original shoreline, which are of use to any community working on plans or projects to use or protect their waterfront. While most Long Island towns received their responsiBility and rights for their bays, harbors and rivers as a result of Colonial Patents, suBsequently confirmed by the State Legislature, Smithtown received its rights to manage certain of its waters and underwater lands from acts of the State Legislature.