Riverhead approves zoning exemptions for new RVAC headquarters

The Riverhead Town Board on Tuesday unanimously approved zoning and land-use exemptions for a new three-story ambulance building planned for the Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps site on Osborn Avenue, following a public hearing conducted under the Monroe balancing test.

The board’s vote on Resolution 2026-764 determines that, after applying the Monroe “balancing of public interests” test to resolve intergovernmental land use conflicts, the proposed ambulance facility project is exempt from formal site plan review and other requirements of town’s zoning ordinance. 

The project, which carries an estimated total cost of $14.1 million, calls for demolition of the existing one-story ambulance building at the current headquarters site, and the construction of a 25,303-square-foot facility. The new facility will have storage bays for emergency vehicles, offices, meeting rooms, fitness and recreation rooms, a kitchen, restrooms and bunkrooms on the 1.57-acre parcel. It is located in the Business Center zoning district. 

Under the Monroe balancing test, an “encroaching” municipality must show that, on the balance of nine factors set forth in a 1988 decision by the state’s highest court, the proposed land use benefits the public. 

Town planning staff said that if the project were required to comply with local zoning, it would need several variances, including relief from the maximum floor-area ratio, building height and building lot coverage. The proposed floor-area ratio is 36.9%, where 15% is permitted; the proposed height is 45.7 feet, where 35 feet is permitted; and the proposed building lot coverage is 17.2%, where 15% is permitted.

Senior planner Greg Bergman told the board that the Monroe review did not waive all approvals. He said the applicant would still have to comply with other requirements and obtain necessary approvals, including Suffolk County Department of Health Services approvals, highway work permits, freshwater wetlands approvals, sewer and water connections and a stormwater pollution prevention plan.

Councilman Ken Rothwell, who has worked with RVAC representatives on the project, said the new building is needed because ambulance corps members have outgrown the existing facility.

Rothwell said RVAC outgrew its current “cramped” long ago. Demands for its services have grown with the town’s development. RVAC now handles almost 6,000 calls a year. Its volunteer and paid staff has grown and its fleet of ambulances has grown as well.

The existing headquarters was built in the late 1980s, according to town records. It does not have adequate space for modern emergency medical service operations, including training space, bunkrooms, restrooms and office space, Rothwell said.

He also said the corps cannot fit all of its ambulances inside the current garage, creating problems during winter storms and with temperature-sensitive medications that must be kept on ambulances.

“This has been an immense project that has been long overdue,” Rothwell said.

The Monroe balancing test in this case was largely a formality needed to give legal support to the exemptions. The Riverhead Ambulance District is a special taxing district that encompasses all of Riverhead Town outside of the portions of the Wading River Fire District and the Manorville Ambulance District that lie within the town of Riverhead. The Riverhead Town Board is the governing body of the Riverhead Ambulance District, which contracts with the nonprofit Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps Inc. for rescue and emergency medical services within the district. The board’s support for the project was not in question.

RVAC has raised $6.4 million for the project so far. The approximately $8 million balance will be borrowed through a town bond issuance. The bonds will be paid off using ambulance billing fees collected by the district, Rothwell said. He described the project as one that “affects every single individual in this town.” The new headquarters is being built “without taxpayer money,” he said.

Also on Tuesday the board set a Sept. 1 public hearing on the proposed bond issuance.                                                                                                             

Ownership of the site and the building will remain in the ambulance district, which will lease it to RVAC. On July 21, the Town Board authorized a lease  agreement with RVAC, subject to a permissive referendum,

The lease agreement provides for an initial 25-year lease with five 10-year renewal terms, giving the ambulance corps up to 75 years in the new facility.

Before adopting the hearing resolution, the board amended it to state that the capital project is an unlisted action under the State Environmental Quality Review Act, is not expected to result in significant negative environmental impacts and is not subject to coordinated review.

During the Monroe hearing, one speaker, Rev. Patricia Chuppe, said her work with Suffolk County’s critical incident stress management team has taken her into ambulance and fire department buildings, including Riverhead’s, to provide support to volunteers after difficult calls. She said Riverhead’s existing space is so limited that finding a private place to speak with volunteers can be difficult.

After the hearing was closed, the board voted unanimously to approve the Monroe determination.

Rothwell said the approval was another step toward a project that has been years in the making.

“We are very very excited,” RVAC President Garret Moore said in a phone interview Wednesday. “It’s an exciting time in our history for all the volunteers,” he said. “We’ve been talking about this for many, many years. It’s been well over 10 years since we decided we need a new building,” Lake said.

Preparations are already underway to move out. “On Sept. 1, we hit the gas pedal,” Lake said. “We’re hoping to vacate our current headquarters by mid-September. Then we can do the demo, get the foundation in, so the new [prefabricated] building can be brought in.” 

While the new facility is being built, RVAC will answer calls out of the former State Armory on Route 58, which the town owns. Crew members will use a triple-wide trailer that will be set up in the back of the armory building. Ambulances will be stored in the armory’s three bays.

RVAC will have an administrative office and a meeting room in a town-owned building on the corner of Griffing Avenue and West Second Street while construction is ongoing, Lake said.  The East End Arts Council currently occupies a portion of that building due to construction and development in the town square site.