The Riverhead Zoning Board of Appeals on Thursday adjourned a hearing without taking testimony on an appeal by a Middle Road property owner seeking site plan approval for a cannabis farm and greenhouse.
The appeal was adjourned with a referral back to the Planning Board, asking that board “to hear the application and, at a minimum, provide the Zoning Board of Appeals with a staff report,” according to ZBA attorney Annemarie Prudenti. The board set a tentative adjourn date of Dec. 11.
According to the appeal, the applicant’s site plan requires two variances from the Zoning Board of Appeals. The site is in the Agricultural Protection Zone (APZ). The code limits fence height to six feet and impervious surfaces to 15%. The plan as submitted calls for an eight-foot deer fence and impervious surface coverage of 24%. See prior story.
The applicant is Brother Bear Canna of Syosset. Brother Bear Canna is in a partnership with Grasse River Hemp, the applicant’s attorney, Larry Davis of Patchogue, said in a phone interview yesterday. Grasse River Hemp holds a New York State adult-use cannabis cultivator license, according to New York State Office of Cannabis Management records.
An adult-use cultivator’s license allows planting, growing, harvesting, drying, curing, grading and trimming on site, and can sell “to duly licensed processors in this state,” pursuant to the State Cannabis Law. Cultivators are prohibited by law from owning, directly or indirectly, a retail adult-use dispensary, and retail sale of cannabis on the licensed cultivation site is prohibited by state law.
All activities will be indoors, inside the greenhouse Brother Bear Canna is seeking to build on the Middle Road property, Davis said in a phone interview Tuesday.
The facility will be equipped with a carbon filtration air system designed to “prevent any nuisance odors,” Davis said. He said it will be similar to the filtration system used at the 34-acre cultivation facility owned by Columbia Care off Sound Avenue in Riverhead, adjacent to Maidstone Landing, an 82-unit condominium complex.
Potential odors are near the top of the list of concerns of residents in Calverton, said Greater Calverton Civic Association President Toqui Terchun.
“There’s high anxiety [about the proposal]. People are very concerned for their health and their property values,” Terchun said.
Terchun said she is concerned about a 41-acre site immediately adjacent to the proposed cannabis farm, because of the potential for expansion. That property is owned by the Town of Riverhead, according to Suffolk County land records and Riverhead Town tax records.
Davis said he’s not clear on the next steps with the town. He said he expects he will hear from the planning department about a meeting date to discuss the application with the Planning Board at an upcoming meeting.
He said his clients are looking forward to discussing their plan with local residents. A meeting with the homeowners association at the Windcrest East, condominium complex is scheduled for this evening, Davis said. He is hoping similar meetings will be set for Foxwood Village as well as the Greater Calverton Civic Association.
“My clients want to be good neighbors,” Davis said.
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