Calverton industrial moratorium extension ready for adoption, could have vote next week

A proposal to extend the Calverton industrial moratorium for three months could be voted on by the Town Board at its next meeting, scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, after its approval by the Suffolk County Planning Commission yesterday and the conclusion of a Town Board public hearing last week.

The six-month moratorium, adopted in January, is set to expire on July 12, which is six months from the date of its filing with the New York Secretary of State.

The proposed three-month extension drew few comments at a Town Board public hearing last week, though the town received “a lot of correspondence from people who couldn’t make it” to the Tuesday afternoon hearing and they were all in favor of extending it, Supervisor Tim Hubbard said during the hearing.

Jen Hartnagel of Group for the East End said the organization supports the extension and asked the Town Board “to further scrutinize the recommendations of the DGEIS [draft generic environmental impact statement] and the comp plan as it directly relates to … warehouse and industrial development issues in Calverton.”

The language in the comp plan update and DGEIS does not reflect the premise of the adopted moratorium, Hartnagel said, which used language that “was very strong in its concerns about the 12 million square feet of industrial space that could be developed” in Calverton. “It used language like ‘unprecedented growth, situated in an environmental justice area’ … and ‘the 12 million square feet have the potential to create significant impacts on air quality, traffic congestion and water supply.’ The analysis in the DGEIS, in our view, is insufficient to properly, knowledgeably examine the situation,” Hartnagel said.

The slight reduction in maximum floor area ratio — a calculation that determines the size of a commercial building —that’s called for by the plan is “a drop in the bucket  in comparison to the 12 million square feet that can be developed,” she said. The total reduction amounts to just 166,000 square feet of development and if a developer utilizes TDRs to increase floor area ratio, as the plan calls for, the reduction will be even less significant, she said.

“At the end of the day, you’re not reducing the density. And the analysis didn’t include or address the…last mile warehouses, the distribution centers…We all buy stuff from Amazon, that’s fine,” she said. “But do we need all of that space filled up with those types of distribution centers?  And maybe it won’t happen, but maybe it will. And that analysis wasn’t included. So what we don’t know, we don’t know,” Hartnagel said.

Town Planner Matt Charters said the 12 million square foot buildout is “a complete doomsday scenario, 100% buildout of all available properties.”

The comp plan projects a “presumed buildout based on a 9% buildout of the soft sites,” he said. 

Charters said in an interview that the buildout projection uses developable acreage within the zoning district, which, as the DGEIS explains, is calculated by setting aside parcels that are permanently preserved, as well as wetlands, and other features that render land unbuildable, parcels where projects are already in the pipeline, and parcels unbuildable because of their small or irregular size.

According to the DGEIS, the total potential development in the Industrial A, B and C zoning districts is 7.4 million square feet on 426 acres. Assuming no change to the current zoning, that would produce 667,873 square feet of development on 38.3 acres, the DGEIS states. That is calculated by assuming a 9% commercial growth rate. 

With the proposed zoning changes — creating a new Calverton Industrial zoning district, comprising the Industrial A and Industrial C zoned land in Calverton — the potential as-of-right development is reduced to 417,421 square feet, according to the DGEIS. With the purchase and transfer of 16.7 development rights, which would be allowed under the changed zoning, potential development would increase to 500,905 square feet.

The projected 9% commercial growth rate is based on the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council’s projected employment growth rate for Suffolk County through 2035, modified to account for Riverhead’s more robust growth trajectory, according to the DGEIS.  

“These projections are derived from broader forecasts for Suffolk County, where the rate of change …in employment is projected at 4.5%,” the DGEIS states. “However, Riverhead’s growth trajectory exceeds the county average, with NYMTC’s preliminary data suggesting a more robust growth rate for households and employment.”

The projected 9% “commercial growth rate” tracks the projected “employment growth rate” number, Charters said.

The town clerk received eight letters in support of extending the Calverton industrial moratorium. 

Since the county planning commission approved the extension, Economic Development, Planning and Building Administrator Dawn Thomas said. The approval requires Riverhead to report back to the planning commission at the expiration of the three-month extension in October, should the town want to extend it again. Thomas said+ she believes the Town Board will act on a resolution approving the extension at its next meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday at 2 p.m.