Riverhead opens door for church group’s workforce housing, community center plans for Northville Turnpike site

Exclamations of “amen,” “hallelujah” and “praise the Lord” went up in Riverhead Town Hall last night. And no, Supervisor Sean Walter, who’s been known to bring his Bible into the meeting room and read passages aloud to fellow board members to make a point, wasn’t leading a revival meeting.

Members of First Baptist Church of Riverhead, who packed the the house to hear the board vote on proposed new zoning that opens the door to the development of the Family Community Life Center on property being donated by the congregation, were joyful after the board voted 3-2 to approve the new zoning code. They burst out into sustained applause and cheers. After the meeting ended, there was hugging and back-slapping and prayers.

First Baptist Senior Pastor Charles Coverdale took the podium after the vote to thank board members who supported the change of zone, which he said he knew was rife with difficult issues.

“I would like to thank those who voted for it as at least giving the opportunity to the committee and group working hard for 24 years to bring something of excellence to the Town of Riverhead,” Coverdale said. “I thank you for just giving us the opportunity to move forward, to really see what could be put forward for the benefit of the town, instead of just saying a blank no and never know what the great possibilities that God can do to uplift Riverhead and its people,” he said. “Thank you very much.”

The local law adopted last night creates a new zoning overlay district, the Community Benefit Zone, that can be placed in any existing zoning district in the town on sites that meet specific criteria — including minimum size, roadway access, Riverhead Sewer District hookup and affordable housing standards. It will be effective after filing with the New York Secretary of State.

The Family Community Life Center proposal consists of 132 workforce housing rental apartments, plus a YMCA-type community center with a gymnasium, indoor pool, meeting rooms, classrooms, performing arts space, child care and senior care facilities — to be built on 12 acres of land currently owned by First Baptist Church of Riverhead next to the church on Northville Turnpike.

Councilwoman Jodi Giglio and Councilman John Dunleavy voted against the new zoning code.

Giglio said she believes “the need exists for the community center, but I think 10 units per acre surrounded by residential property is too intensive.” She also expressed concern about where else in town similar proposals might be made, noting that the code did not specify a minimum size for the community center — which is a key “community benefit” of any proposed development — relative to the number of units. Giglio faulted the code for not requiring the purchase of new development rights to preserve farmland, but allowing a developer to use credits from land already preserved.

She said she was wary about extending the sewer district to serve the project, too.

“We just spent nearly $24 million to reduce the amount ot nitrogen that’s going into the Peconic River and I think by extending the sewer district and attaching high intense developments, we’re counter-proposing what we just spent and did,” the councilwoman said.

Dunleavy, who has opposed the Family Community Life Center’s plan and the proposed zoning code that would allow it to move forward, cast the second no vote last night.

“This is spot zoning,” Dunleavy said before voting, “because how many commty life centers are goign to be built in the Town of Riverhead?”

While everyone needs the community center, he said, “I can’t see 126 apartments and business offices in that complex that pay no taxes. No one came to us to say include taxes, we’ll give you a payment,” he said.

“I have to protect the taxpayers of the Town of Riverhead and not shoulder them with another burden of paying for someone else to live,” Dunleavy said.

Riverhead already has more affordable housing units than any other town in Suffolk County, Dunleavy said, putting the number of such units at “over 1000.”

With Councilman Tim Hubbard’s vote in favor and the supervisor’s support for the project, Councilman James Wooten cast what would be the deciding vote in the face of a 2-2 tie.

“I’ve thought about this for 25 years,” he said. “As town officials, community building…is what you leave behind. This is zoning. Unfortunately this zoning got tied to a specific project with a lot of moving parts. So the zoning laws got tainted because people are equating it with a standalone development,” Wooten said.

“The Community Life Center will have to go through SEQRA [review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act], special permits, a whole host of things,” Wooten said. “The town will address impacts on schools, roads and sewers.

“Let’s set the table. Let’s see who comes up. I think its a good thing. I vote yes.”

The supervisor finished the voting with a simple, “Congratulations. Yes.” And the audience erupted.

In an interview after the meeting, the supervisor said Dunleavy’s criticism about property taxes has “always been a red herring.” The fact that a nonprofit corporation owns a piece of property doesn’t automatically exempt it from taxes, Walter said. It depends on how the property is used, he said. A YMCA type of use would not pay property taxes, but the rental apartments and any home offices would be subject to real estate taxation, according to the supervisor. He pointed to John Wesley Village as an example of that.

“Now the real work for them begins,” Walter said.

Shirley Coverdale, Family Community Life Center executive director, said the next step is to make application to the town to have the Community Benefit District zoning overlay applied to the site, something the group intends to work on right away.

“Now it’s up to the lawyers.”