Riverhead weighs major rewrite of outlet zoning code to allow more uses at Tanger

Riverhead’s land use rules for Tanger Outlets are undergoing a major overhaul to eliminate or ease restrictions put in place when the code was adopted in 1992 to allow the outlet mall to be built.

The “wholesale revisit” of the town’s Manufacturers Outlet Center code came as a result of discussions planning officials have had with Tanger, Riverhead Senior Planner Greg Bergman told Town Board members at Thursday’s work session.

Use restrictions in the current code, even after previous amendments, prevent the Riverhead outlet mall — once one of Tanger’s most profitable properties — from competing in today’s retail market, Bergman said. The highly specific restrictions make it harder for Tanger to attract tenants, he said.

“The long and short of it is, the business model for Tanger has changed,” Bergman told the board. The pool of traditional outlet tenants has shrunk, he said, adding that the town’s comprehensive plan recommends adapting to changes in the retail market and providing more flexibility in zoning.

Representatives of Tanger attended the work session via Zoom.

Jordan Horne, Tanger’s vice president of development, said the company has been better able to evolve its tenant mix at Deer Park, where zoning is less restrictive, while Riverhead has struggled to do the same.

“With Riverhead, with some of the restrictions that we do have, we’ve unfortunately not been able to do that,” Horne said.

He said the center has lost some outlet tenants, vacancy has increased and sales per square foot have declined.

Tanger presented a chart showing that Tanger Outlets in Riverhead, which opened in 1994, was among the company’s “tier 1” top-performing properties, based on sales per square foot, as recently as 2019, but had dropped to a “tier 4” property in 2024 and 2025. Tanger’s Deer Park outlet mall, which opened in 2008, remains in the company’s “tier 1” portfolio.

According to the chart, the Riverhead outlet center’s sales per square foot were $440 in 2025. Tanger’s report of operating results for 2025 states that the average sales per square foot across its 37 outlet centers was $474.

Tanger has strategically expanded its offerings to diversify its tenant base, adding full-price retailers as well as food, beverage and entertainment options “to attract new shoppers, extend visitor dwell time and increase frequency of visits,” according to Tanger’s 2025 annual report.

That formula has worked in Deer Park, so Riverhead planners looked to the Town of Babylon’s zoning code as a model for the rewrite presented Thursday, Bergman said. Instead of continuing to regulate the site through narrow, highly detailed use categories, he said, the town is looking to replace those provisions with broader permitted uses that would give Tanger more flexibility to respond to market demand.

Under the draft code, the district would allow general retail and consumer merchandise, personal service shops, banks, movie theaters, indoor recreation, restaurants with or without drive-through windows, commercial video game centers and professional office use.

Bergman said the goal is to stop micromanaging tenant mix through outdated definitions and let Tanger recruit businesses that fit a broader retail and commercial framework.

He also proposed removing the old single-story campus requirement while keeping the existing height limits and requiring cohesive architectural design across the property.

Other proposed changes would reduce the parking requirement from one space per 200 square feet of gross floor area to one per 250 square feet, lower the minimum landscaped front yard from 100 feet to 35 feet and require a substantially contiguous landscaped area covering at least 25% of the site.

Bergman said the revisions would not increase the amount of floor area allowed on the property and would not amount to a wholesale dimensional change. Rather, he said, the proposal is mainly about broadening permitted uses at an existing large-scale commercial center.

A four-acre vacant property wedged between Tanger I and Tanger II but not owned by Tanger is also within the outlet zoning district. The owners of that site obtained final approval in 2025 to construct 31,000 square feet of manufacturers outlet center retail space.

Board members strongly endorsed the proposed approach.

Council Member Joann Waski said she remembers the original debate 35 years ago, when restrictions were built into the code to prevent the outlet center from competing too directly with Main Street. She said those concerns no longer carry the same weight.

“The demise of Main Street ended up being [Route] 58, not Tanger at all,” Waski said. “So I think it’s so important that we are removing these restrictions.”

Council Member Ken Rothwell framed the issue as a tax-base concern as much as a land-use one.

Rothwell said Tanger is one of the town’s major property taxpayers and that its long-term success matters to residents across Riverhead.

“It’s important for every resident to understand the need for them to prosper and survive so they continue to make those yearly tax payments,” he said.

Bergman said anyone driving through Tanger One, the first phase of the center to open in 1992, can see that it is not what it was 20 years ago, with more vacant storefronts and a retail environment that has clearly changed.

At the same time, he said, the broader Route 58 corridor is in better shape than it once was, weakening the old argument that the town must tightly restrict Tanger to protect nearby commercial areas.

The town has amended its manufacturers’ outlet code over the years to add uses. The most recent amendment came in 2024 to allow general retail stores, interior design and furniture showrooms, and specialty grocery stores, and to expand accessory uses to allow a sit-down restaurant, indoor and outdoor recreational uses and food and beverage service, including alcoholic beverages at theaters built at the site.

But the current code still includes detailed rules governing things like food courts, restaurant seating, theater placement and other uses. The rewrite would replace much of that structure with broader categories of uses allowed as of right, without the requirement of a special permit.

With the board’s support, Bergman said he could send the draft to the Planning Board and prepare the resolutions needed to schedule a public hearing.

If adopted, the rewrite would mark one of the most significant changes to the outlet zoning framework since Tanger opened, reflecting both the transformation of retail and the town’s growing willingness to rethink a code written for a very different commercial era.

Tanger was founded in 1981 and went public in 1993. In addition to its open-air outlet centers, the company has recently opened three “lifestyle centers,” which blend premium retail with dining and services.

Despite competition from online retailers and the setbacks of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tanger is in a strong position, according to company president and CEO Stephen Yalof.

“Our differentiated platform continues to deliver meaningful internal and external growth,” Yalof said in a Feb. 24 company press release announcing 2025 fourth-quarter and year-end results. “Robust retailer demand and continued consumer interest is fueling same-center NOI [net operating income] increases and driving growth at our recently acquired centers. We achieved record annual leasing volume, advanced our strategic merchandising initiatives, and strengthened our occupancy, all of which reflect the confidence brands have in partnering with Tanger.”