Public hearing held on Calverton industrial subdivision as review resumes after moratorium

A long-stalled plan to subdivide about 131 acres of industrially zoned land on Route 25 in Calverton was the subject of a Riverhead Planning Board subject hearing Thursday. The proposal, for property just west of Splish Splash water park, was caught in the town’s 2023 Calverton building moratorium and zoning overhaul.

The Calverton Industrial Subdivision (OSTAD) would divide the 130.9-acre site into seven lots, three of which would be developable for future industrial uses, while the remaining four would be dedicated to stormwater management, sewage treatment, water infrastructure and open space, according to Riverhead Senior Planner Greg Bergman.

“This is a public hearing on the draft environmental impact statement and the draft supplemental environmental impact statement,” Bergman said. He noted that the Planning Board had accepted a draft EIS on the project in early 2024, just before the Calverton industrial moratorium went into effect. Review resumed after the moratorium was lifted last fall.

The property, formerly zoned Industrial A, is now within the Calverton Industrial (CI) Zone, created through the town’s comprehensive plan update. The zoning changes reduced allowable floor area ratios from 0.4 to 0.25, with a maximum of 0.3 FAR using transferred development rights — effectively reducing the potential building area on the site by nearly half.

Applicant outlines scaled-down plan

Attorney Keith Archer of the Melville law firm Bloom & Archer, representing the applicant, said the project has gone through “a bunch of iterations, both before and after the moratorium.”

“This is a proposed seven-lot subdivision — three developable lots, and four for stormwater management, sewage treatment, possible water infrastructure and open space,” Archer said. “With the changes to the zoning, the allowable floor area dropped from about 1.6 million square feet to about 1.16 million.”

Engineer Angelo Leno of VHB Engineering presented the current subdivision map, describing the layout and environmental features. “The site is currently home to a sod farm,” Leno said. “It’s bordered by Middle Country Road to the north, agricultural land to the east, Splish Splash to the west, and the Long Island Expressway to the south.”

He said the plan includes one main entrance from Route 25 about 100 feet east of the western property line, two internal roads with cul-de-sacs for emergency access, and a proposed sewage treatment plant on a 4.7-acre lot. Another 20-acre lot at the southeast corner would be dedicated as undeveloped open space, and a four-acre parcel near the center of the site is reserved for a possible future Riverhead Water District well.

The subdivision will require water main extensions since there is no public water currently serving the property.

Environmental review and traffic study

David Wartman, VHB’s director of environmental services, said the project’s environmental review began under the prior zoning and was later supplemented to reflect the reduced density under the new Calverton Industrial Zone.

“The supplemental EIS took another look at each of the impact issues — soils, water, traffic, noise, air quality, community character, and energy use,” Wartman said. “In virtually all categories, impacts were reduced compared to the earlier plan.”

A comprehensive traffic study, also prepared by VHB, concluded that the project “would not have a significant negative impact on area traffic conditions with the implementation of certain mitigation measures,” according to VHB traffic engineer Aaron Machtay.

Those measures include:

• A new traffic signal and turning lane at the site entrance on Middle Country Road,
• Widening the eastbound side of Route 25 to two lanes along the property frontage,
• Improvements at Manor Road/Splish Splash Drive and at Middle Country Road to provide additional lanes eastbound, westbound and southbound, as well as an additional eastbound right turn lane at the recently reconstructed Middle Country Road and Edwards Avenue intersection.
• Signalization of the eastbound Long Island Expressway off-ramp at Edwards Avenue.

“These improvements are designed to preserve east-west traffic flow and improve safety at the key intersections,” McTay said.

Planning Board questions

Planning Board members asked several questions about lot sizes, water district costs and the location of the proposed sewage treatment plant.

Member Joseph Baier questioned whether the treatment facility, planned at the far southern end of the site, was too distant from the northernmost lots. “Wouldn’t there be a better place to put it?” Baier asked. Leno replied that the intent was to locate it away from public view and that underground utilities would connect it to all lots.

Bergman said the applicant has discussed the potential water district well site with town engineers but the details are not yet finalized. “The applicant is willing to allocate that land to the town,” he said.

Public comments and next steps

During the hearing, Calverton Civic Association president Toqui Terchun thanked the Planning Board for listening to residents during the moratorium and urged the board to keep the public comment period open for 30 days. “The DEIS is 1,100 pages,” she said. “We’re asking that you keep the record open for the standard 30 days so the public has time to review it.”

Bergman said SEQRA requires the record to remain open for at least 10 days following the public hearing, but acknowledged the board could extend that period at its discretion.

After a brief discussion, Chairman Ed Densieski proposed a compromise: “Let’s split the difference — keep it open for 15 days.” The board agreed unanimously, setting Nov. 21 as the deadline for written comments.

The applicant is expected to prepare a Final Environmental Impact Statement addressing the planning department’s comments, outside agency responses and public submissions.

“This application has been in limbo for nearly two years,” Densieski said after the vote. “We’re glad to see it moving forward again, but we’re going to do it carefully and make sure every issue is addressed before any approvals.”