Riverhead settles lawsuit with mine operator on site next to landfill: April 1 town board wrap-up

Riverhead has settled a lawsuit with CMA Mine, a Southampton-based company that owns a 20-acre mined site on the corner of Osborn and Youngs avenues, adjacent to the capped and closed town landfill. 

At the heart of the lawsuit was whether the company should be granted permission to dig deeper within the existing footprint of the mine to a depth of 100 feet — which is 89 feet below the groundwater table. It proposes “reclaiming” the mined land by constructing an 8 ½ acre lake on the site.

MORE COVERAGE: State DEC poised to approve sand and gravel mining 89 feet into groundwater in Calverton

The town and the company have agreed that CMA will apply to the building and planning department for a letter of pre-existing use stating that its pre-existing, nonconforming use allows digging to the depth of 100 feet. If the planning/building department denies the application, the town Zoning Board of Appeals will determine, within 60 days, “the scope of the pre-existing use.” 

Mining operations there date back to 1938. CMA, a company owned by Steven Mezynieski of Southampton, has owned the site on Osborn and Youngs avenues since 2017.  

The town’s position remains that mining on the site is a pre-existing nonconforming use and the scope or extent of the use is limited to the existing mined land reclamation permit, Riverhead Town Attorney Erik Howard said in an email yesterday. 

“The intent of the settlement is to essentially remit the disagreement as to the scope of the operation to a determination of the ‘manifest intent’ of the original owner at the time mining activities commenced and, based on evidence submitted, issue [a letter of pre-existing use] describing the extent of the pre-existing nonconforming use,” Howard wrote. CMA may appeal the town’s determination to the ZBA and/or apply to expand its pre-existing nonconforming use,” Howard wrote. 

The stipulation does not change the fact that mining is not a permitted use in any zoning use district within the town, Howard said.

The Town Board approved the stipulation of settlement with CMA at its meeting Tuesday.

MORE COVERAGE: Analysis: Town’s lawsuit over Calverton sand mine grinds on, despite N.Y. high court decision last year that seemed to end the controversy

In other action Tuesday, the board: 

• Honored a Good Samaritan and first responders for saving a man’s life last month. (Read more here.) 

• Authorized legal action against the owner, tenants and occupants of 28 Lincoln Street in Riverhead. 28 Lincoln Street is occupied by the office of Maureen’s Haven Homeless Outreach. According to Suffolk County court records, the lawsuit has not yet been filed as of the publication of this article.

• Granted a special permit to the Riverhead Charter School to expand its Sound Avenue high school with three temporary portable trailers. (Read more here.)

• Authorized a license agreement with the Riverhead Industrial Development Agency to use its building at 55 Columbus Avenue, at Stotzky Park, as offices for the fee of $400 per month.  (Read more here.)

• Authorized an agreement with the Suffolk County Board of Elections to use Riverhead Town Hall as an early voting polling place. 

• Authorized an agreement between Riverhead Town, the Long Island Power Authority and other taxing authorities for payments in lieu of taxes for the 2024-25 year.

• Authorized a one-year extension of an agreement with Urban Design Associates to provide design coordination consulting services relating to  projects in downtown Riverhead.  

• Authorized an addendum to an agreement with LVF Landscape Architects for “additional services necessary to realize the Adaptive Riverfront Playground” at the town square. The town will pay the firm an additional $70,157 for the work, according to the resolution.

• Adopted a local law to allow commercial solar facilities and battery energy storage systems in the Light Industrial and Calverton Industrial zoning districts, The amendments were proposed by planning staff after the board rezoned all industrial land in the town to one of those two zoning districts. Those changes came out of the comprehensive plan update.

• Adopted a local law to allow governmental authorities and related entities to erect electronic signs at municipal buildings with the permission of the Town Board.

• Adopted a local law to allow developers with preliminary site plan approval to apply for up to two six-month long extensions to their approval. Developers can currently apply for just one six-month long extension.

• Appointed Riverhead IDA Executive Director Tracy Stark-James as a member of the town’s Emerging Technology Committee; Grace Swift to the Senior Citizen Advisory Council; and Salim Massoud to the Anti-Bias Task Force. 

• Ratified the promotion and terms and conditions of employment for Sewer District Superintendent Tim Allen, who took over from long-time Superintendent Michael Reichel when he retired on March 22. 

• Appointed Elizabeth Keller to the position of community development program analyst. Keller has been working as a provisional appointment in the position since the beginning of March. 

• Ratified the reappointment of three part-time police officers, Daniel Concannon, Joseph Ramos and Tyler Widercrantz, who successfully completed the required training at the Suffolk County Police Academy.

• Appointed Ryan Deon to the position of automotive equipment operator. 

• Appointed seasonal employees of the Recreation Department and set their salaries. 

• Approved a special event permit for Familia De Dias for a religious service called Exqusia at the intersection of Court Street, Osborn Avenue, Rail Road Avenue and Cedar Avenue on July 19, from 6 to 11 p.m.

• Approved a special event permit for the Fleece and Fiber Festival at the Hallockville Museum Farm for May 17 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a rain date on May 18.