Wading River Residents Demand Moratorium on Development

More than 60 residents of Wading River turned out at Tuesday’s Town Board meeting to press for a temporary moratorium on commercial development along Route 25A from the Brookhaven town line to Hulse Landing Road.

Residents argued that no applications should be approved until the findings of a are considered.

“I think I speak for just about all of us here when I say that what we want and expect is for the study to have a chance to shield Wading River from the commercial sprawl that plagues so much of the rest of the island,” said Dominique Mendez, co-founder of the Riverhead Neighborhood Preservation Coalition.

Alan Hurley, vice president of the Wading River Civic Association, said that four proposals already in the pipeline and others that could follow “have the potential to demonstrably change the rural character of the hamlet.”

“The results of this study are imperative to deciding the scope and the feasibility of many of these projects,” he said. “To approve any proposals without waiting for the findings of the corridor study would leave this board in the precarious position of rationalizing spending of thousands of dollars on a study which seemingly you had little faith in.”

Money for North Fork Preserve approved

The Town Board unanimously approved spending $500,000 to partner with the county in the acquisition of the North Fork Preserve, the 306-acre private hunting compound that lies between Sound Avenue and Sound Shore Road in the hamlet of Northville.

Prior to the vote, Board or Education President Ann Cotton-DeGrasse spoke against the purchase, describing land preservation as “a want, not a need at the moment.”

She argued that once the parcel becomes public land and is taken off the tax rolls, it would deprive the Riverhead Central School District of about $60,000 in annual tax revenues. The district can ill afford that loss, she said, particularly given the 2 percent tax cap increase the state has imposed on school districts and municipalities.

“To purchase that land would mean that the school district would give up approximately $600,000 in the ten years before that park actually became a park,” Cotten-Degrasse said.

Supervisor Sean Walter countered that the adverse impact on schools would be even greater if the land were to remain in private hands and sold to a developer for housing, which would increase the number of children the district has to educate.

“What happens if they come in with a subdivision application for 100 houses?” he asked, noting that putting up 100 houses would be possible even given two-acre zoning in Northville.

Councilman John Dunleavy supported Walter’s argument, pointing out that the school district spends $32,000 a year to educate one child but takes in an average of only $12,000 per household in property taxes.

Richard Amper, executive director of the Long Island Pine Barrens Society, criticized Cotton-DeGrasse for speaking out against the purchase.

“Those on school boards are doing one of the most important things in our society,” he said, “but they’re not setting a good example for the public when they oppose protecting drinking water and preserving open space because they seem to be sending a message that whatever works out for us monetarily is best for society.”

In November, the Suffolk County Legislature is expected to approve spending $17.5 million to complete the $18 million acquisition, which is expected to close by the end of the year.

County officialsbut said that, due to budget constraints, it would be at least ten years before any work on the parcel would begin.