Residents will have an opportunity to speak on the site plan for a proposed industrial park on Middle Country Road in Calverton during the Riverhead Planning Board meeting tomorrow evening.
HK Ventures of Great Neck wants to build eight warehouse buildings totaling 412,000-square feet on a 30-acre site on the south side of the state road. Buildings on the site are allowed to be up to 35 ½ feet tall. The site is located next to Tractor Supply and is currently vacant agricultural land.
The public hearing will be held during the Planning Board’s 6 p.m. at Riverhead Town Hall.
HK Ventures and other industrial developments seeking to build warehouses in Calverton have been scrutinized by some residents, who express worries the developments could overburden roadways, impact air quality and change the character of the Calverton hamlet.
The site plan process is going forward despite the result of the environmental review for the project being challenged by the developer in court.
The State Department of Transportation must complete the reconstruction and improvement of the Edwards Avenue/Middle Country Road intersection before any town permits are issued for the project, according to “findings statement” adopted by the Planning Board when it concluded the State Environmental Quality Review process. The intersection is subject to “significant congestion” that activity at the development is expected to make worse, the findings statement said.
The work on the intersection has been delayed by the state a few times and is expected to be complete in early 2025.
HK Ventures sued the Riverhead Planning Board in May over the requirement, which the developer’s lawyer said would stall the project. The lawsuit is ongoing; the Riverhead Planning Board is looking to dismiss the case.
MORE COVERAGE: HK Ventures sues Planning Board over condition tying permits to state fixing Edwards Avenue intersection
The development was recently granted variances from the Riverhead Zoning Board of Appeals, including for height and impervious surface coverage. The height variance amounts to approximately 2.25 million cubic feet of additional building volume, while the impervious surface variance equates to an additional 9,409 square feet of space.
The Planning Board will also hear comments on:
- A major subdivision application from Peconic Farms, seeking approval to subdivide an existing vacant 9.5-acre parcel of land and create six (6) new residential building lots. Roughly 5-acres of that property will remain open space.
- A site plan application from Do-Well Properties seeking approval to construct an 18,000-gallon propane tank to for the storage and distribution of propane gas at 120 Edwards Avenue in Calverton.
- A major subdivision application seeking approval to subdivide a vacant 26-acre parcel of residentially zoned land located on the north side of Middle Road in Riverhead, located near the intersection of Middle Road and Harrison Avenue.
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