The application of a state-licensed cannabis cultivator for two variances from town zoning code requirements was denied by the Riverhead Zoning Board of Appeals last night.
A packed Town Hall meeting room erupted with cheers, whoops of joy, applause and shouts of “thank you” as ZBA VIce Chairman Ralph Gazzillo read a summary of the board’s determination aloud.
“After this careful review, the board here hereby determines that the benefit of granting the area variance request, when balanced against the detriment of granting the area variance request to the health, safety and welfare of the community, we hereby deny the application for relief —” Gazzillo read before the audience reaction drowned out his voice.
He finished after the applause died down, and moved the resolution — triggering more applause— which the board then passed unanimously.
Greater Calverton Civic Association President Toqui Terchun briefly took the podium after the vote to address the board on behalf of the community, which had rallied together against the proposal.
“[I] want to thank you, the board, for your time, your care and your seriousness with which you brought your review of this application,” Terchun said. “The residents appreciate that the decision reflects the record developed through the hearings and the impacts discussed. Regardless of what comes next for the applicant, the community recognizes the effort the board made to evaluate the evidence before it. Thank you for your service,” she said, to more applause.
Brother Bear Canna seeks to build a 33,700-square-foot cannabis growing facility at 1458 Middle Road in Calverton, a 5 ⅓ acre site in the Agrticultural Protection Zoning Use District.
Its site plan before the Planning Board requires two ZBA variances from code requirements: impervious surface coverage of 24.04%, where 15% is permitted and an eight-foot woven wire deer fence, where six feet is the maximum height permitted.
Read more: Nassau company seeks approval to grow cannabis on Middle Road site in Calverton
Last night’s ZBA decision prevents the applicant from moving forward with site plan review by the Planning Board. The applicant seems to be left with two options. It can either ask the State Supreme Court to reverse the ZBA decision, or it can modify its site plan application to eliminate the need for the two variances.
In addition to voicing concerns about health, safety community character impacts, opponents of the plan argued that the cannabis growing operation is not a traditional greenhouse, which is allowed in the APZ district. Rather, they argued it is more akin to a manufacturing facility or a vertical farming operation, which are not permitted uses in the APZ.
Read more: Zoning Board hearing on cannabis greenhouse variances veers into broader debate over plan
The question of the use itself was not before the ZBA. Riverhead’s zoning officer, Senior Planner Greg Bergman, had already determined the proposed use to be a greenhouse as defined by town code, which allowed Brother Bear Canna to file its site plan application.
The Planning Board referred the application to the ZBA for a decision on the required variances. Absent an amended site plan that does not require the variances denied by the ZBA last night, or a court ruling reversing the ZBA’s decision, the Planning Board can’t move forward on the current site plan.
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