Riverhead Planning Board Vice Chairperson Ed Densieski is pressing for the Planning Board to hold a public information meeting to afford the public a chance to learn more about warehousing and logistics uses — a use that is proposed at several locations in the Calverton area.
The idea is to have an interactive forum where residents can ask questions about the proposed new uses, which Densieski points out were not studied in the town’s existing comprehensive plan. With applications pending and a draft update to the comprehensive plan at least a year away, Densieski wants the board to receive information from planning department staff and the town’s planning consultants, BFJ Planning, as well as comments from the public about development proposals in Calverton and their potential impacts.
He advocates scheduling the forum for an upcoming evening meeting to allow working residents the chance to attend and participate.
Densieski’s proposal got push-back yesterday from Planning Board Chairperson Joann Waski and Building and Planning Administrator Jefferson Murphree.
Murphree said the town’s planning consultants are already scheduled to meet with the Planning Board on May 3, a regular Planning Board afternoon meeting.
“I think we’re better off having an evening meeting, so more people could attend,” Densieski told Murphree.
“We actually did discuss this,” Waski said. The afternoon meeting works better for getting the consultants and other people together, she said. People who are not able to be here can watch the meeting on TV, Waski said. “They can see everything that’s said. There’s not going to be any comments from the public at that time,” she said.
“It’s not just a question of getting everybody together,” Murphree added. “It’s a question of meeting with all the other committees, getting all the background data accumulated and assimilated, so that when they come to see you, they already have some hard data to give you and it’s not a dog and pony show presentation about what the comp plan is,” he said.
“I don’t know why these people can’t take one night,” Densieski said.
Murphree said the time of the meeting is “purely a planning board decision.”
“I would go with the evening, with public comment,” Densieski said. “For the meeting to be meaningful, I think it should be in the evening. I want to know about the issues. And I know a lot of people in public want to know about the issues,” he said.
Murphree said the consultants want to hear from the Planning Board.
Waski said she thought it would be better to have public comments at an another time, expressing concern that the meeting could turn into “a free for all.”
Two other board members said they agreed.
“It tends to get a little intense,” Waski said. “I want to hear from the public, of course. I know that’s important.”
Densieski said the proposed warehouses are a big issue around town.
“Regular Riverhead people have a lot of concerns and questions, as I do. I don’t understand these uses. I want to know exactly what they are. I want it explained in layman’s terms, so that the general public and us can understand it. And if somebody has a question, why would we not want to hear from them?” he said.
“I absolutely agree with what you’re saying,” Waski said.
Murphree said the board could take time to think about it. “It’s gonna be the May meeting. That’s when they have it in their queue,” he said.
“Why May?” Densieski asked.
“Because we have a whole series of other meetings and data processing that we have to get through to get to that meeting,” Murphree answered.
“I’d like somebody to explain it to us, so these things that weren’t contemplated in the master plan can be understood — so we can make an informed, semi-intelligent decision,” Densieski said. “And a lot of people in the public don’t understand it either because I hear it quite a bit,” he said.
Waski said the board wants to hear from the public. “Let us digest a little bit. Let the public think about what their questions are. Let them come another time,” she said.
“It’s an open meeting,” Murphree added. “And if you need a second meeting, they [BFJ] would come back. It’s a fluid process it’s not a one-and-done.”
Planner Greg Bergman said having the consultants meet with the board first would be most efficient. “The meetings are recorded, easily accessible on the town website,” he said. “Have the information session with the Planning Board, the public can watch it, they can digest it and think about what they want to ask.”
Waski said the board should decide the date at a later time. “I don’t want to have a knee-jerk reaction on it. I want to digest it a little more.”
Densieski said in an interview today there are a lot of questions that need answers — traffic impacts, air quality. “We don’t know what it is. We don’t know who it is. . And we should know that stuff,” he said. The community at large doesn’t have a clue about any of this stuff. So why can’t they ask questions? Why can’t they be informed? I want to be informed,” he said.
Greater Calverton Civic Association President Toqui Terchun said the civic group is considering hosting its own informational hearing on the topic of warehousing and logistics centers.
Residents have been waiting too long for the town to deal with the issue head-on, she said.
“Everyones’ holding their breath over when will we have something that addresses this,” Terchun said.
“Calverton residents can organize themselves,” she said. “We don’t need Town Hall to do that.”
She said members of the civic discussed the idea last night and while they don’t have a date yet, they do plan to hold an information meeting to have a comprehensive discussion of the impacts of high-cube warehouses and logistics centers on air, water, traffic and quality of life.
The civic will invite members of the Planning Board to attend and listen to residents’ concerns, Terchun said.
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