BFJ Presents Updated Wading River Study to Town Board

Taking into consideration feedback received at a Feb. 4 public workshop - and meetings with landowners and members of the public held last fall - hired planners from BFJ Planning presented an updated version of a Wading River Corridor Study on Wednesday night to the Riverhead Town Board, and a crowd of about 100 members of the public.

No changes in the zoning amendments have been proposed since the . However according to Frank Fish, a principal with BFJ, open space requirements have been added into the text of the study, as well as limits on housing square footage.

BFJ had already presented to the town its initial suggestions, offering less commercial zoning and more multi-family residential and professional parcels - 42 acres to be exact - to allow for something such as condominiums as opposed to retail space.

But the drop in retail zoning may come at the expense of even more open space, and threaten with more development, said Dominique Mendez, president of the Riverhead Neighborhood Preservation Coalition.

"There is a lot more development potential here, albeit not retail development," she said.

Mendez pointed in particular to 17 acres currently zoned residential that she said she "wants back" after it was proposed for M-RP zoning. The lots sit located north of Route 25A between parcels currently zoned for retail use and a Long Island Power Authority right-of-way. Fish said he didn't find it likely that anyone would build single-family homes back there between tension wires and condos.

Mendez and Sid Bail, president of the Wading River Civic Association, also pointed to the condos as being potentially a "tax negative" for the town, should families bring in children to Shoreham-Wading River School District. According to Bail, while Wading River currently hosts 63 condo units, the proposed zoning changes would leave room to increase the number of condos in the hamlet by over 200 percent.

Fish said he plans on getting firm numbers from the district on the particular cost to taxpayers it takes to educate each student.

Mendez said the condos should be reserved for senior citizens, while Bail suggested 50-and-over - a proposal one resident called prejudiced.

"What if a senior citizen wants his grandchild to come live with him?" asked Nick Shapiro.

Shapiro went on to say that if he were one of the landowners whose zoning was being changed, he would bring a lawsuit against the town - a statement one land use lawyer said will happen if his client's zoning is changed.

"Of course we would litigate," said Pete Danowski. Danowski represents Kenn Barra, owner of East Wind; the Zoumas family, who owns 18 acres east of CVS; and the Partridge family, who owns land on the north side of Route 25A. "Absent substantial density, no residential units would get built."

Mary Zoumas recalled successfully litigating over a previous zone change on her property, keeping its commercial status after the town called for a change of zone in its 2003 comprehensive plan. The property has plans to build over 50,000 square-feet in a bank, restaurant, retail space, and professional offices.

"We're totally opposed to the changes," she said. "We agreed to sell our land to the county in 2007, but they said they weren't interested in buying the land. Subsequently we spent lots of money trying to go forward with development. We litigated in court, and won. Now they want to re-zone again. We already have a court order saying we won. So we don't exactly know where they're coming from."

Following Wednesday night's meeting, the town will still need to vote to accept the final draft of the study. And in order to make any zoning text or zoning map amendments, public hearings will need to be held along with town board votes.