Riverhead comp plan update gets thumbs-up from county planners Wednesday

Suffolk County planners gave Riverhead’s draft comprehensive plan update a green light yesterday afternoon.

Members of the county planning commission voted unanimously, with three commissioners absent, to approve the update, with several comments attached to the approval.

The five comments were: 

(1) a reminder to the town that the comp plan is  “a living document,” to be revised as needed to fit trends and changed circumstances; 

(2) a reminder that future actions taken to implement the plan may require referrals to the Suffolk County Planning Commission for review.  Approval of the draft plan is not an acceptance of any other zoning action or regulation taken to implement the plan in the future;

(3) the town should consult the county’s department of economic development for strategies for designing or redesigning streetscapes in the downtown and transit-oriented development districts, as well as the Suffolk County Department of Public Works and the New York State Department of Transportation for access to road improvements considerations as early stage development as possible; 

(4) the town is encouraged to review and incorporate the Planning Commission’s guidebook;

(5) the proposed town transit plan update should include a section that encourages and incentivizes business owners and applicants to explore techniques to reduce parking demand.

The vote came after a presentation by Noah Levine of BFJ Planning, the consultant hired by the town to complete the comp plan update, followed by the presentation of the commission’s staff report by Principal Planner Theodore Klein.

Read the planning commission staff report here. 

County planners asked questions about the town’s plans to protect its existing agricultural lands, focusing in particular on the plan’s proposals for invigorating the Riverhead’s moribund transfer of development rights program. 

A transfer of development rights program allows developers to increase density for certain types of uses in designated “receiving” areas with development rights purchased from lands in designated “sending” areas.  In theory, farmers in designated “sending” areas can sell their development rights to developers looking to increase use densities in designated “receiving areas.” The transaction would help preserve farmland without the expenditure of public funds.  

Currently, Riverhead’s designated “sending” area is the Agricultural Protection Zone, the town’s farm belt, located north of Route 25 and south of Sound Avenue. Designated “receiving” areas include certain lands north of Sound Avenue and certain areas downtown. 

Town officials and farmers alike have long acknowledged that the town’s existing transfer of development rights program isn’t working. Reasons cited include insufficient “receiving” areas and complicated procedures. An ad hoc TDR committee has advocated for about a decade for increasing the designated “receiving” areas by designating additional zoning districts as “receiving” areas, adding more uses that would be allowed with the transfer of development rights, and increasing the densities allowed with the transfer of development rights.

The draft comp plan incorporates those ideas and also recommends designating lands north of Sound Avenue as both “sending” and “receiving” areas, because there is a significant amount of agricultural land north of Sound Avenue.

Read the Draft Comprehensive Plan Update here.

Riverhead Economic and Planning Administrator Dawn Thomas told commission members Wednesday that the plan’s “focus on the TDR program was really important because we have about 7,000 acres left to preserve…” Thomas noted that the town’s  Community Preservation Fund revenues — which are raised by a 2% transfer tax on the sale of real estate — are alone insufficient to accomplish the amount of farmland preservation needed. 

“And so in order to preserve more farmland and make sure our agricultural heritage and economy is preserved, we are focused on making sure the TDR program works,” Thomas said. 

After the meeting, Thomas said she was pleased with how the planning commission meeting went and the commission’s decision to approve the draft comp plan update.

The public comment period on the draft plan is open through Monday, June 10.  Written comments should be emailed to townclerk@townofriverheadny.gov. They can also be hand-delivered to the town clerk’s office at Riverhead Town Hall, 4 West Second St., Riverhead NY 11901.

MORE COVERAGE: Residents concerned about Riverhead’s future speak out at comp plan hearing Monday night