Riverhead Town Board: motocross plan needs impact statement; crackdown on short-term rentals coming

The Duffy MX Motocross Track application will be subject to a full environmental review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act.

The Riverhead Town Board on Tuesday issued a positive declaration, requiring the applicant to prepare an environmental impact statement for the project. The proposed action is a Type I action for purposes of SEQRA review. The Town Board has assumed lead agency in the coordinated review process.

The applicant was directed to prepare a draft scoping statement. When approved in final form, the scope will spell out the extent and nature of the review. There will be an opportunity for the public to comment on the draft scope. 

Duffy MX Motocross Track is proposed for a 15-acre site at 2822 River Road in Calverton currently occupied by a single-family home and previously used as a vineyard. 

The property lies within the Calverton Industrial zoning district, which permits non-automobile outdoor tracks with a special permit from the Town Board. 

The project would require the excavation of roughly 120,000 cubic yards of soil and sand.

Daniel Duffy, owner of Duffy MX Inc, initially presented his plan in 2023, but the project was caught up in the Calverton industrial moratorium. 

The Town Board has been inundated with emails from motocross enthusiasts in support of the Duffy MX application.  Many of the emails contained identical language and most did not indicate the sender’s place of residence. This irked local residents who, at the Oct. 7 Town Board meeting, asked the town clerk to require emails and letters on topics before the board to contain the sender’s place of residence. A letter received by the clerk on Oct. 9 from Sallie Donnellan of Baiting Hollow expressed concerns that the email-writing campaign on behalf of the track might lead board members to conclude there is widespread support in the community for the proposed project when that is not the case, Donnellan said.

New code changes aim to crack down on transient rentals

The Town Board Tuesday scheduled a Nov. 18 public hearing on proposed changes to the town’s rental dwelling code.  The town is looking to tighten up the rules relating to short-term rentals and improve language in the code to enhance enforcement efforts.

The existing code prohibits rentals for less than 30 days. Rentals with a duration of less than 30 days are considered a “transient rental.” The proposed revisions would create presumptions that rentals are transient under certain circumstances, such as:  they are advertised for rent for a minimum stay of less than 29 consecutive days, or if the rental listing allows users to book a rental for less than 29 consecutive days, or if the rental listing suggests availability for weekends or availability on a per-night basis. Certain observations of activity at a property, such as a recurring pattern of different motor vehicles at a premises over short intervals, would also create a presumption of transient occupancy.

Any of the circumstances listed in the proposed code revision would establish a rebuttable presumption. The presumption can be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence introduced in court or at the ZBA, which will be empowered to hear administrative appeals.

The proposed code would also make it illegal for someone to advertise any dwelling unit within the Town of Riverhead for a rental term of less than 29 days, with each day of advertising the rental constituting a separate violation. All advertisements will be required to contain the Riverhead Town rental permit number. 

The code also makes platforms that display rental listings subject to civil penalties if they fail to remove a transient rental listing for a property in Riverhead after receiving formal written notice from the town to remove the listing. 

The revision beefs up penalties for violations: each violation will be punishable by a minimum fine of $3,000 with a maximum of $15,000, or by imprisonment of up to 15 days, or both. Each day that a violation continues would be a separate offense. The fines go up for second violations within 18 months of a conviction and for third and subsequent violations within five years of a conviction, topping out at a $30,000 fine per violation, per day.

The code change provides that the town may seek civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation per day in a civil action in court, as well as injunctive relief. 

It would also authorize a town code enforcement officer to suspend, revoke or deny a rental permit upon a finding of a violation of the rental dwelling code.

In other action Tuesday night, the Town Board:

• Authorized a lawsuit against the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), the Cannabis Control Board (CCB), and the State of New York regarding certain provisions of the New York State Cannabis Law. The Town Board hired John Wagner of Certilman, Bail, Adler & Hyman to represent the town at a fee no greater than $475 per hour. The Town Board consented to joining or participating in a lawsuit with the Town of Southampton in an action for this purpose. Southampton Town authorized the lawsuit and hired the same firm to litigate it last week.

• Approved an excavation permit for Sandy Pond Links, allowing the excavation and exportation of 54 cubic yards of materials from the site at 1521 Roanoke Avenue, in furtherance of construction of a clubhouse, trade shops and manager’s residence at the golf course, pursuant to a site plan approved by the Planning Board on Sept. 18.

• Authorized the demolition of an existing 4,250-square-foot horse barn and the construction of a new 6,500-square-foot horse barn with a new I/A wastewater treatment system at Timothy Hill Children’s Ranch at 298 Middle Road, Riverhead.

• Approved a fireworks permit for Riverhead Halloween Fest, Saturday, Oct. 25. The festival fun gets underway at 4 p.m. with the big parade stepping off on Main Street at 7 p.m. The fireworks display is between 9 and 9:30 pm and will be shot from a barge on the river, south of the town square.