The application for a use variance that would have allowed the construction of a 3,900-square-foot storage warehouse at 52 Main Road in Riverhead has been withdrawn by the property owner.
Patrick Fedun, owner of the half-acre parcel just west of the All Star, wrote to the Zoning Board of Appeals requesting to withdraw the application, according to the board. It did not release a copy of the correspondence. Fedun did not return a phone call Friday seeking comment.
The property lies within the Commercial Residential Campus (CRC) zoning use district, where a warehouse is not a permitted use.
The ZBA held a public hearing on the application Jan. 8. It drew opposition from homeowners whose properties adjoin the proposed warehouse site. The board closed the hearing and reserved a decision at that time.
The board granted the request to withdraw the application “with prejudice to reapply” for the use variance for two years from the date of determination.”
Hearing on Stony Brook Ambulance Center reopened
The ZBA on Thursday voted unanimously to reopen the hearing on an appeal by Stony Brook Ambulance Center for a proposed ambulance center/garage at 1087 Old Country Road (Staples Plaza) in the Shopping Center zoning district. The application seeks a use variance because an ambulance center/garage is not a permitted use in that district. The board held a public hearing on Jan. 8 and reserved a decision that night.
Peconic Bay Medical Center/Northwell Health requested that the hearing be reopened.
After newly substituted counsel for Stony Brook, Judy Lynn Simoncic of Uniondale, asked for additional time, the board set the reopened hearing for March 12.
New owner of Buoy One site seeks to open HVAC business
The board on Thursday also heard an application by 1175 West Main LLC seeking a special exception to change from one nonconforming use to another at 1175 West Main Street, in the Riverfront Corridor zoning district.
The site is the former location of Buoy One, which operated a seafood market and restaurant there. The one-story masonry building pre-exists the Town of Riverhead’s zoning ordinance. The western portion of the building was renovated more than 20 years ago for use as a spa, for which a certificate of occupancy was issued by the Riverhead Town Building Department. The property, opposite Mill Road where it terminates at West Main Street, was one of several adjacent parcels owned by Roy Osman.
The new owners of the site seek to convert the western portion of the building from a pre-existing, nonconforming spa/restaurant to a showroom, storage and offices for a heating and air conditioning business, which is not a permitted use under the current zoning of the site, Riverfront Corridor zoning use district.
Attorney Charles Cuddy of Riverhead, representing the new owners, Chris Geiger and Frank Stresser, told the board the proposal would not change the site and would be less intense than the former fish market/restaurant use, with no nighttime hours and sales by appointment. Town staff reported receiving a letter in support from the adjacent property owner and additional support letters from nearby property owners.
Cuddy said his clients are seeking to expand their business, which already operates in Westhampton.
The board closed the public hearing and reserved decision to its Feb. 26 meeting.
Transient rental appeal at 47 Bayside Avenue adjourned
The board continued a public hearing on an appeal by Bayview at Peconic LLC, involving 47 Bayside Avenue in Jamesport, where the applicant is challenging the building inspector’s July 29, 2025 determination rescinding a letter of pre-existing use issued Oct. 13, 2022 for use as a transient rental.
In a memo submitted with the application materials, the applicant argues the home has been used for transient rentals since the Fusaro family purchased it in 1962, and that transient occupancy was included in the town’s definition of a permitted “dwelling” when the use began. The submission also alleges the 2022 letter of pre-existing use was rescinded without a hearing or due process.
At Thursday’s meeting, the applicant’s attorney, Patricia Moore of Southold, summarized the claim that the short-term rental use is a lawful, pre-existing nonconforming use and said the record included affidavits, tax and business records, photographs and other materials.
At Moore’s request, the board adjourned the hearing for two weeks, to Feb. 26, to allow more time to gather additional information for presentation at that time.
Pool variance granted for corner lot in Jamesport
The ZBA granted variances for an in-ground pool at 9 Holly Tree Lane in Jamesport, a corner lot, where the applicant requested relief from code provisions that prohibit accessory structures in a front yard, require a 50-foot setback from a side street (10 feet proposed), and limit impervious coverage to 15% (33% proposed).
The approval was conditioned on submission of a planting plan for Planning Department review.
The ZBA’s next meeting is scheduled for Feb. 26 at Riverhead Town Hall.
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