Land Preservation

Much of the land in Orient is protected from development thanks to the sale or donation of development rights or easements. Other protected areas are State, County and local parklands and subdivision open spaces. As of 2016, there were 772 homes in Orient, 175 individual building sites and a calculated yield of 163 additional potential building sites on subdividable unprotected land. In the town of Southold, any new subdivision over 7 acres must preserve 60% open space as a “Standard Subdivision”. “Conservation Subdivisions” protect either 75% or 80% open space. The open space requirements are met through clustering new homes on smaller lots. There are several pending large subdivision proposals in Orient. Here are links to the Southold Town Planning Department files on these proposed subdivisions:

Conservation Subdivisions:

Standard Subdivisions:

Other Resources

Conservation Options from Peconic Land Trust https://peconiclandtrust.org/our-work/conservation/conservation-options
Map of Preserved Land in Southold: https://tos.maps.arcgis.com

Protected Lands in Orient

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Happening Now

Orient Water Project Recommendations Survey

The OA Water Committee recently met with consultants at CDM Smith to discuss present and future recommendations that the community should consider to sustain the health of our water resources. While the consultant has analyzed historical data from private well testing performed by Suffolk County Department Health Services, we do not have much information about how folks in the community are coping with issues of contamination and reliability. The Committee wanted to hear directly from residents about their experience and practices with their well water.

Summer 2023 Newsletter

We hope you are all enjoying the cool and peaceful days of spring as we approach the busy summer months.Kicking off the summer season, after a long hiatus the first in-person Annual Meeting of the Orient Association will be held on Saturday, May 27th at 9:30 am in Poquatuck Hall.Members of the Orient Association will be voting on a new slate of officers and Board Members will be introduced.

Why Should We Care About Code Compliance? June 11, 2023

The town code includes regulations about many things that affect us including short-term rentals; building size and construction, noise; our visible environment including signs, lighting and dark skies; RV, trailer and boat storage; landscaping and dumpsters. Code compliance and enforcement (or lack of it) often comes up in our community meetings. It impacts many of the things that recent surveys say we value. Learn how code enforcement works and some ways it might be improved, and your role in ensuring compliance and enforcement.