No ‘dark skies’ variances for Costco developers

The night sky over Riverhead will get a little less bright.

The Riverhead Zoning Board of Appeals last night unanimously rejected the application of Heritage-Riverhead Retail Retail Developers for permission to install brighter lighting than allowed by town code on a canopy over gas pumps at the new Costco Warehouse.

“We’re very pleased with the ZBA in its denial of the request for under-canopy lights that were more than the ‘dark skies’ code allowed,” Foxwood resident Barbara Ross, whose home adjoins the development site, said after last night’s meeting. “We’re very happy with their vote.”

Millbrook resident Diane Barba agreed and added that the town and residents now need “to work on some sort of buffer that’s adequate to protect these communities.”

Last month, “The Shops at Riverhead” developer withdrew a second variance application seeking permission to install 25-foot-tall light poles instead of the 16-foot maximum allowed by code.

There was no support among ZBA members for that variance request, either, according to ZBA chairman Fred McLaughlin.

The developer’s attorney, Peter Danowski, had argued for the two variances as safety measures. The installation of taller light poles would reduce the number of poles from 165 to 61 and therefore reduce the number of parking lot accidents involving cars crashing into light poles. Brighter lights under the gas canopy would also increase safety for patrons, Danowski said.

Both applications met stiff opposition from residents of two residential communities abutting the new commercial development, who turned out in force to speak out against the appeals for relief from Riverhead’s “dark skies” ordinance. The neighbors were joined in opposition by members of the “dark skies” committee that developed the more restrictive outdoor lighting code, which went into effect in 2002, by the Riverhead Neighborhood Preservation Coalition, the Group for the East End, members of the Calverton Civic Association, and residents from other parts of the town.

Residents of Foxwood Village, a 55-and-over community lying immediately north of the development site, and the Millbrook Community, a mobile home park to the east of the site were already angered by the clear-cutting of the entire 42-acre wooded site — including 11 acres of woods that are not being developed but were bulldozed in order to excavate sand for grading the low-lying, southern portion of the site. In most places, the developer was allowed to clear land right to the boundary line of the adjoining residential neighborhood. The developer was required by the planning board to erect a six-foot “solid wood” fence along the property line with Foxwood Village and construct a 30-foot landscaped berm south of the fence.

The developer has agreed to increase the depth of the berm and the density of planting, according to town officials. No formal action has yet been taken on any amendment for that purpose to the site plan approved by the planning board last year.

Members of the town board, which approved the land-clearing permit for the site in April, point out that the planning board, not the town board, has responsibility for commercial site plan approval. Town board members have maintained that they had no choice but to approve the clearing permit because it was in keeping with the site plan approved by the planning board last year.

Councilman John Dunleavy, who lives in the Foxwood community, has come under fire for his support of the development, which he says is bringing jobs and tax base to the community. He said during a candidates debate on Aug. 26 the neighboring residents bear responsibility for protecting their properties when a large development plan is being advanced. Residents attended planning board meetings throughout the process, he noted.

Dunleavy, Supervisor Sean Walter and Councilwoman Jodi Giglio, who are all running for re-election, met with Foxwood residents Sunday night at the community’s recreation center.

According to residents who attended the meeting, the elected officials assured residents they would be meeting with the developer’s representatives to discuss improvements to the berm as well as the possibility of replacing the fence with a sound-barrier type of wall. They also told residents the developer’s representatives were scheduled to meet with planning department staff and a couple members of the planning board during a planning work session on Tuesday (Sept. 10) to discuss site plan compliance issues, said Foxwood resident Lyn Tyler. Planning department work sessions are not open to the public, but town board members urged Foxwood residents to attend the Sept. 19 planning board meeting, she said.

Foxwood Village resident Bob Hall advocates the construction of “a pretty concrete wall like you see on the parkway,” but said the residents whose backyards abut the development should be asked about their preferences before any more decisions are made.

Photo captions, from top: 1. Calverton sunset. RiverheadLOCAL photo by Peter Blasl. 2. The Riverhead Zoning Board of Appeals at a meeting earlier this year. RiverheadLOCAL photo by Denise Civiletti. 3. Heritage-Riverhead Retail Developers attorney Peter Danowski at a ZBA hearing in July. RiverheadLOCAL photo by Denise Civiletti. 4. Foxwood residents Bob Hall, left, and Joan and Joe O’Shea inside the couple’s home last month.  RiverheadLOCAL photo by Peter Blasl.  5. Piles of sand on the Costco development site during excavation, as seen from Foxwood Village road. RiverheadLOCAL photo by Denise Civiletti.