Hearing set on Riverhead’s first satellite Earth station: Town Board May 6 meeting wrap-up

The Riverhead Town Board Tuesday scheduled a public hearing on a special permit and site plan application for the first satellite Earth station in Riverhead.

A New Jersey-based telecommunications firm is seeking approval for the construction of 40 satellite Earth station antennas in a fenced compound within the Calverton Enterprise Park. The company, inRange Solutions of Parsippany, New Jersey, seeks approval for the installation on property owned by Laodis of Calverton, at 317-391 Burman Boulevard.

Twenty antennas, gravel, fencing and utilities have already been constructed at the site without town approvals, according to a Planning Department staff report. 

The antennas are just under 9 feet tall and would be built on a precast concrete pad, according to the environmental assessment form prepared by the applicant. The location and configuration of the antennas are depicted on the project site plan drawings posted on the town’s website.

The antennas would be used by Starlink, which uses a global network of low-orbit satellites to deliver high-speed internet to its customers. Starlink is a subsidiary of SpaceX, the aerospace company founded in 2002 by Elon Musk.

The hearing is scheduled for June 3 at 2 p.m.

The Town Board also passed a resolution determining the development will have no significant negative environmental impacts and dispensing with further environmental review.

The board last August adopted legislation to regulate satellite Earth stations, a use which was not previously in the code. They are included in the same section as telecommunication towers and require a special permit. The developer is in compliance with most of the special permit requirements, but is requesting waiver of several standards related to landscaping.

Also during its May 6 meeting, the Town Board:

• Authorized a request for proposals for the sale of 214 Griffing Avenue, known as the historic Slade-Hallett House. The town acquired the building as a part of its $20 million purchase of the new Town Hall and surrounding buildings from Peconic Bay Medical Center. 

• Ratified authorization of an application for a New York State municipal parks and recreation grant to secure additional funds to supplement the construction of the adaptive children’s playground planned for the town square.-

• Authorized an application for the Suffolk County Downtown Revitalization grant in the amount of $50,000 for improvements to the Third Street municipal parking lot.

• Approved special event applications for Duck Pond Day in Wading River (June 8 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., rain date June 15); the Riverhead Country Fair (Oct. 12 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., no rain date); Iglesia Familia De Dias (Riverhead for Christ) (June 14 6-9 p.m. at Grangebel Park). 

• Approved a special event application for Long Island Antique Power Association shows on June 14, July 12-13; July 26; Sept. 13; Sept. 27-28; and Oct. 11. The Long Island Antique Power Association is located at 5950 Sound Avenue.

• Approved a special event application for Dreamland Amusements East End Fair on June 25, 26 and 27 from 5-11 p.m., and June 28 and 29 from 12-11 p.m.. The fair is being planned for Veterans Memorial Park. Read more: Five-day carnival proposed for Veterans Memorial Park in Calverton this summer

• Set a public hearing for June 3 at 2 p.m. on legislation to repeal and replace the Town Code chapter on public nuisances. 

• Appointed a new accountant, Melissa Blackmore, who will earn an annual salary of $87,630. 

• Ratified the provisional appointment of Jordan Harden, current recreation leader, to the position of assistant recreation program supervisor. Harden will earn an annual salary of $66,074. 

• Appointed farmers Eve Kaplan-Walbrecht and Matt Wells to the Farmland Preservation Committee for the remainder of two-year terms to expire Dec. 31, 2026. 

• Appointed energy engineer Robert Myrick to the Emerging Technology Committee as a chairperson for a term that will expire Dec. 31, 2029. 

• Approved a license agreement with Wadington Realty Corp for the use of a portion of town parking facilities on the south side of Creek Road in Wading River for LaPlage Restaurant. The agreement is for two years, with the town being paid $3,000 for the first year, and$3,200 the second year. There is an option to extend the agreement an additional two years, for which the town will be paid $3,250 for the third year and $3,300 for the fourth year. 

• Established a budget for the use of a $130,000 Housing and Urban Development grant program to conduct repairs on a home in Riverhead Town. 

• Held a public hearing on a Town Code amendment to require an automatic fire extinguishing system for new and existing installations of flammable motor fuel dispensing systems. Chief Fire Marshal Andrew Smith said the requirement for the fire extinguishing system was taken out of the state code.

• Held a public hearing on a Town Code amendment to allow bonfires on residential properties within the town without the need for a permit. The amendment establishes regulations for bonfires, including that fires must be at least 25 feet from any building or structure, must be maintained an approved fire pit, and must not be kindled or maintained with combustible fuels other than wood. A permit would only be required for bonfires on commercial properties and town properties, according to the code amendment.