Land use

Big developers know they can have their way in Riverhead, promising jobs that won’t go to town residents and taxes we’ll never see. What do we actually get? More traffic, more light pollution, more crime, more demands on our town employees and first responder resources. Letter from Mark Gajowski, Calverton

After wasting three years and over $300,000 on its failed effort to update the comprehensive plan, and facing development pressure the town is ill-prepared to handle, the town must adopt a moratorium and get to work planning for our future.

The six civic associations active in the Town of Riverhead are asking the town board to enact a moratorium pending completion of the long-delayed comprehensive plan update, citing the number and scope of new development applications being filed while planning continues.

A land-use dispute stretching back nearly two decades between the Town of Riverhead and a Jamesport restaurant got a new hearing before the Zoning Board of Appeals last week — nearly eight years after a State Supreme Court judge ordered the hearing be held.

A plan to build a new 13-store outlet center on undeveloped land in the middle of Tanger Outlets is back in front of the Riverhead Town Board, after previous approvals for the plan lapsed. 

After hearing opposition from residents and civic associations, the Riverhead Planning Board voted 3-2 to deny Baiting Hollow Farm Vineyards' site plan application last week, over concerns about noise from outdoor music.

A massive industrial development proposed for a 30-acre parcel in Calverton will be the subject of a public meeting Nov. 5 to scope out the parameters of environmental review of the project.

Will population growth decline or accelerate? How do you plan for a future in the midst of so much uncertainty? Planning consultants hired before the pandemic met with town officials today to discuss their approach and get the comprehensive planning process started — seven months later than expected due to COVID.

The planning department is recommending an environmental impact statement be required for a proposed 425,464-square-foot industrial complex on 30 acres off Middle Country Road in Calverton.

A request for a zone change that would allow for the construction of a 162-unit assisted living housing development on a 25-acre site on Mill Road drew strong objections from the community during a two-hour public hearing last night at Riverhead Town Hall.