Town
of Brookhaven's Draft of Final Master Plan
for West Meadow Beach
The West Meadow Beach peninsula, located in Stony Brook, can best be described as our community’s most important recreational area. Bounded by the Long Island Sound on one side and West Meadow Creek on the other, this narrow, unique sand spit is the longest contiguous piece of town-owned land along the eastern coast of the United States.
With spectacular waterfront vistas and breath taking tidal sweeps, this narrow, sixty-acre park is a treasured resource that attracts thousands of Three Villagers throughout the year. Over the past decades, there has been a progression of legally binding federal, state, and town decisions to protect, preserve and restore this outstanding publicly owned natural resource for future generations.
The environmental and public protection of the park is firmly established by the New York State Supreme Court, the New York State Court of Appeals, New York State Legislation, the Environmental Protection Agency, New York State’s Coastal Management Program, The Affiliated Brookhaven Civic Organization, The Town of Brookhaven’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan, The Three Village Hamlet Study and the Long Island Sound Study’s Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan.
West Meadow Beach Park is comprised of two areas – the1000 foot public bathing area located at entrance to the park, and the 6000 foot natural preserve that makes up the western portion of the peninsula.
Beginning in 2004, the Town of Brookhaven has engaged in a program to restore the western portion of the West Meadow peninsula to its natural and historic state. Members of the Civic Association of the Setaukets were active in the Town of Brookhaven’s West Meadow Technical Committee and the Citizens’ Advisory Committee in developing a series of recommendations to govern the restoration process. Recently, the Town of Brookhaven has hired the engineering firm Cameron Engineering and Associates LLP of Syosset to use these recommendations and draft a comprehensive plan for the preserve.
