What’s the rush? Town Board should table the battery energy storage code adoption

Once again the Town Board is charging ahead precipitously with major zoning changes before adequate vetting and input from the people of Riverhead.

At the work session last Thursday, the consultant from BFJ, Ms. Yackal, gave the Town Board an overview of her completion of parts 2 and 3 of the full environmental assessment form for the new code provision for battery energy storage system (BESS) facilities. But the public was unable to ask questions and, as is clear from the six pages of questions and commentary from Barbara Blass, the former chair of the Planning Board, there are still myriad questions and concerns that the Town Board had no clue about such that they could explore them adequately with this consultant.  A couple of board members did raise one or two questions, but a better understanding of the matter on their part would have led to serious follow-up questions and a more in-depth look at this important matter.  

Notwithstanding this superficial presentation, the Town Board plans to adopt this zoning code change today.  To do so is irresponsible and reckless on their part.  And, it robs the people of this town of the very opportunity that the board said they were going to afford us when they tabled these resolutions some weeks  ago. 

I fully understand, as Ms. Yackal explained, that each facility requires a special permit, specific review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), and site plan approval; yet, there remains the very real issue that this code allows BESS facilities not only in Industrial A, Industrial C and PIP zones but also in Agricultural Protection Zone (APZ) and Residential A-80.  BESS facilities are totally out of character with the latter two zoning districts–in fact they are contrary to the purpose and intent sections of the APZ and RA-80 zoning districts in the town code.  The zoning for BESS facilities is exactly the sort of thing the consultants working on the comp plan update should be studying and making recommendations on for the update. What’s the point of paying for and doing the update if this code is going to be enacted today? 

Tellingly, Yackal said in the work session that “we don’t know, at this stage, how many facilities you may get and exactly where they will go.”  Well those are the very things that should be examined in the comp plan; they should not be decided today in this unexplained rush to pass this zoning change. The comp plan update is the appropriate mechanism for systematically considering the best placement for  these facilities. Groundwater issues are much too important in this town to leave siting of these facilities to a piecemeal, project by project basis.  

I also note that Yackal conceded the update work BFJ is doing includes looking at solar and other things along with potential revisions or amendments to the underlying industrial zones. Well if that is true why shouldn’t the zoning for BESS facilities be a part of that update — not plucked out and handled out of context right now. What on earth is the rush??

The Town Board has failed to explain any need, let alone any persuasive need, for this haste to amend the zoning code. At a minimum, they should table these resolutions, and convene a forum to allow for better understanding and public input.  Optimally they should step back and have this new use studied in the comp plan update.