The Riverhead Town Board yesterday authorized a legal action against Island Water Park in State Supreme Court to stop “the illegal use and occupancy” of its Scott’s Pointe property in Calverton.
A resolution passed unanimously by the board (4-0 with Council Member Ken Rothwell absent) authorized Town Attorney Erik Howard to bring the action for an injunction against the use of a go-kart track and pickleball courts built on the site without approvals and the use of a second floor room approved as storage space but converted to an assembly area without permits or a certificate of occupancy.
The town had already issued several summonses on June 3, charging Island Water Park with violations of the town code for the construction of the go-kart track and pickleball courts and conversion of the second-floor space without the required permits or site plan approval. One summons charged the owner with failing to install an emergency responder radio coverage system required by the state fire code. The town also issued a “stop-work” order to Island Water Park on June 3 to prohibit future use of the track without the required permits, certificate of occupancy and site plan approval.
Town code summonses are litigated in the town’s justice court, which can impose fines but does not have the authority to issue an injunction, an order that prevents future code violations. When the town wants to seek remedies that the justice court lacks the authority to grant, it must turn to the State Supreme Court.
The town fire marshal and code enforcement officers visited Scott’s Pointe on June 3 after the park’s social media posts showing the go-kart track in use caught the town’s attention.
MORE COVERAGE: Scott’s Pointe issued stop-work order, cited by town for building race track without approvals
The authorizing resolution adopted by the board yesterday states that the town attorney may also ask the court to impose penalties and order the park to restore the site to “pre-violation status.”
Island Water Park is also facing potential action by the State Department of Environmental Conservation, which on June 26 issued a notice of violation to the company and ordered it to cease use of the inflatable aquapark structure and other public recreation in the groundwater-fed man-made pond at the site.
MORE COVERAGE: State DEC orders Scott’s Pointe to halt use of aquapark and ‘public recreation’ in lake
Those activities, among the premier attractions at the park, violate terms of the DEC permit allowing construction of the pond, the DEC said.
The go-kart track built on the site by Island Water Park without approvals is “situated at least partially” in the area authorized for mining, according to the DEC notice, which also said the parking lot built on the site was “significantly larger” than what was depicted on its approved plans.
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