A proposal to expand Riverhead’s Walmart by approximately 26,835 square feet and add grocery offerings will go to a public hearing Nov. 19, following action by the Riverhead Planning Board at its Oct. 15 meeting.
The board assumed responsibility for the project’s environmental review and issued a negative declaration, determining that the proposed expansion is not expected to have significant adverse environmental impacts. It also voted to schedule a hearing on the site plan for the store at 1890 Old Country Road.
The expansion still needs site plan approval. Revised plans address concerns raised earlier about landscaping, the building’s appearance and development rights, Senior Planner Greg Bergman told the board.
The plans retain more landscaped parking islands than the initial proposal and call for replacing dead or missing trees. A staff report lists 150 parking-lot trees, exceeding the 85 required by town code. Revised awnings would have pitched metal roofs, and masonry walls would help reduce noise from loading bays.
The project would use development rights previously allocated to an unbuilt liquor-store expansion on the property and would require an additional 1.312 transferred development rights, according to the Planning Department.
Suffolk County is still requiring reconstruction of the traffic signal and pedestrian facilities at Old Country Road and Kroemer Avenue. The staff report says the requirement stems from the existing signal’s deteriorating condition. The county waived previously requested signal and pedestrian work at the western Tanger Mall Drive access. Bergman said the project would not require widening Kroemer Avenue or adding turn lanes.
Middle Road concrete crushing facility DEIS needs more work
The Planning Board also required more work on the environmental review for Breezy Hill Group VI’s proposed asphalt and concrete crushing and screening facility at 1792 Middle Road in Calverton.
It voted to deem the draft supplemental environmental impact statement inadequate for public review and require revisions. Bergman said the document must address the town’s comprehensive plan update, industrial development moratorium and zoning changes, as well as the applicant’s request for a special exception from the Zoning Board of Appeals.
The revisions must also identify the ZBA as an involved agency and include the record of its January hearing on the application. The Planning Board’s action requires an updated environmental submission; it does not constitute a new denial of the proposed facility.
Bergman said zoning amendments adopted in December 2024 placed the property in a light industrial district where concrete crushing is prohibited. The applicant is seeking permission from the ZBA to change from a pre-existing nonconforming residential use to another nonconforming use, he said. The Planning Board remains responsible for leading the environmental review.
Two proposed cell towers move through environmental review.
The board assumed lead-agency status and issued a negative declaration for a proposed cell tower at the Baiting Hollow Golf Club, after Elite Towers reduced its proposed tower from 140 to 120 feet and cut the number of carrier sectors from seven to five. A use variance is still needed.
Members debated whether the tower should carry an American flag. Bergman recommended removing the flag and yardarms to reduce the tower’s visibility and avoid drawing additional attention through nighttime lighting. Densieski and Zilnicki favored a flag, while the applicant’s attorney said the company was open to either design.
For Verizon’s proposed tower at 285 Hubbard Avenue, the board classified the project as a Type I action under state environmental review rules and requested lead-agency status for coordinated review. The proposal includes space for six wireless carriers and ground equipment within a fenced compound of approximately 1,600 square feet. Bergman requested landscaping to screen the existing parking and equipment areas along Hubbard Avenue. The adjacent fire-department communications tower would remain.
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