Community Corner

Letter: Route 25A Study Still Lacking

President of Riverhead Neighborhood Preservation Coalition says after hearing updated plan before town board, more work needs to be done - still - on Route 25A corridor study.

Though there are a few improvements from the February 4 version of BFJ Planning’s Wading River 25A Corridor Study, there are still major flaws with the recommendations based on what was

The plan still would allow too much retail (120,000 sq. ft. though BFJ projected a mere 23,000 sq. ft. of demand) plus the current suggestions would eliminate zoning that would have created over 17 acres of open space to instead allow nearly double the development on four key parcels. Though the plan would eliminate some unneeded retail, limit the size of multi-family units and reduce the impervious surface requirement (all good), a drastic increase in the amount of overall development at the expense of open space is certainly not what the community wants.

In addition, they’re really missing the boat when it comes to the multi-family units, which we have repeatedly suggested must be senior condos. Wading River doesn’t have a single retirement community and the proposed area is perfectly suited for that use: seniors will be able to walk to adjacent stores, restaurants and doctors offices. We think that will make these senior condos very attractive to buyers. Plus age-restricted homes will not create the tax burden that we expect the current recommendations will. BFJ also introduced the possibility of the units being rentals and that’s something most of us don’t want to see happen.

The study is also seriously flawed in that it continues to ignore the rural neighborhood business (BCR) zone. The recommendations disregard the potential for 120,000 sq. ft. of retail as if it did not exist and the planners have neglected to make any suggestions to improve the BCR zone to mitigate the remaining potential for retail, restaurant and bank overdevelopment.  And the reasoning behind this intentional oversight is absurd. The Town prematurely approved Knightland leaving the residents no choice but to sue in order to prevent the project from going forward before the results of the study are in and now the Town is making sure the study refrains from making any suggestions related to the BCR zone. So the only way they would have evaluated all the zoning in the corridor is if the residents sat by quietly while a tourist mall is built on Sound Avenue, regardless of the approval being illegal on several fronts. Sounds more like punishment than sound planning.

One has to wonder how anyone can honestly call this exercise a comprehensive corridor study when what it’s really shaping up to be is a four or five-parcel study. When you closely evaluate the current recommendations and realize they’re actually doubling the development potential on four parcels, it makes you wonder if the driving force behind the ‘corridor study’ isn’t really to make sure the landowners actually make more money on their land than they otherwise would have. And if preserving the rural character and quality of life in Wading River is more of an afterthought.

Dominique Mendez
Wading River

Editor's Note: Ms. Mendez is the president and co-founder of the Riverhead Neighborhood Preservation Coalition.


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