Riverhead ZBA rejects Stony Brook Medicine ambulance center at Staples Plaza

The Riverhead Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously denied an application Thursday night seeking permission to operate an ambulance storage and maintenance facility in a portion of the former Big Lots store at Staples Plaza on Route 58.

In a 4-0 vote, with one board member absent, the ZBA approved a resolution denying both an interpretation request and a use variance sought by property owner 1099 Royal LLC for the proposed Stony Brook Medicine facility at the shopping center.

The application had sparked contentious hearings and public debate, pitting Stony Brook Medicine against Peconic Bay Medical Center over the future of advanced stroke care on the East End.

“This is one of the longest cases we’ve ever had,” ZBA Chairman Otto Wittmeier said before the vote. “We did listen. We read everything. We got pounds of paper.”

Board member John Porchia read portions of the board’s 23-page decision into the record before the vote.

The board rejected the applicant’s argument that the proposed ambulance center qualified as a permitted use within the shopping center zoning district. The proposed use included ambulance storage for up to eight ambulances and one mobile stroke unit, and warehousing, offices, a teaching center for ambulance personnel and dispatch operations for the mobile stroke unit.

In its findings, the board concluded those uses are fundamentally inconsistent with the purpose of the town’s shopping center zoning district, which is intended for retail and customer-oriented businesses.

“The proposed uses do not serve as a location for the residents to shop and purchase or receive services from,” the decision states, “and instead, none of the uses are open to the public.”

The board cited both the town’s 2003 and 2024 comprehensive plans, which describe shopping center zoning as intended for retail uses and public-facing services such as stores, restaurants, banks and personal services.

The ZBA also found the applicant failed to meet the legal standards required for a use variance.

The property owner argued the rear portion of the former Big Lots space was difficult to market because of its lack of Route 58 visibility and loading docks. Testimony presented by the applicant described unsuccessful efforts to market the space to dozens of prospective retail and commercial tenants.

But the board concluded the evidence did not establish the property could not yield a reasonable return if used for permitted purposes.

The decision noted there was no evidence the space could not be reconfigured into smaller storefronts or improved with loading docks to attract tenants. The board also pointed to other shopping center properties along Route 58 that successfully lease space despite limited visibility from the highway.

The ZBA further found the claimed hardship was not unique to the property and determined the requested use would alter the essential character of the shopping center district.

While acknowledging the potential medical benefits of the mobile stroke unit, the board said the issue before it was land use compatibility — not the merits of the healthcare service itself.

“It is beyond cavil that the mobile stroke unit is a significant advancement in technology and emergency stroke care,” the board wrote in its findings.

But the board concluded that dispatching emergency vehicles from a shopping center parking lot designed for pedestrians and retail customers was incompatible with the district’s purpose.

“The dispatch of an emergency vehicle in an area designed for customer access … is contrary to the purpose and design of this zoning district,” the decision states.

The board also determined the hardship was self-created because the property owner knowingly sought approval for a use not permitted under the zoning code.

After the vote, Wittmeier said the hearings had educated board members about advances in stroke care and praised improvements underway at Peconic Bay Medical Center.

“I believe we did the right thing tonight,” he said.