Riverhead considers allowing agritourism resorts, but farmers are wary

On a late July day, the rhythm of rural life up and down Sound Avenue in Riverhead rises to a crescendo. Tomatoes swell and blush, fruit pies fly off wooden stand shelves, a tractor digs the earth to plant cold-weather crops.

Generations of families have plowed the fields along the 13-mile highway, producing staples from cauliflower and potatoes to pumpkins and apples, some selling their wares at local farmstands. Over the years, agritourism, aimed at keeping farms profitable and preserving open space, has boomed through pick-your-own fields, corn mazes and festivals. But visitors seeking to spend the night would be out of luck, as there are no inns or hotels along Sound Avenue.

Now, though, the town is considering a zoning change to allow construction of luxury hotels on the north side of Sound Avenue, a move that could alter the town's rural landscape and challenge the future of farming.

Town officials say the measure will grow the tax base, but it has ignited debates over traffic, noise and environmental impacts — and raised existential questions about the North Fork's identity even as neighboring Southold took another approach recently by approving a temporary pause on new hotels.

A public forum on the proposal is set for Sept. 18 at 6 p.m., after town officials canceled a Tuesday hearing "in response to an unusually high volume" of opposition, Supervisor Tim Hubbard said Thursday.

By town estimates, Riverhead has 7,000 acres of open space or developable farmland, but it lacks funds to buy those properties. Officials hope the proposal will preserve some of that acreage.

“We want to preserve land, but that means there’s no income coming in,” said Councilman Ken Rothwell, who estimated one resort could generate $200,000 in annual tax revenue for the town.

Resorts with an agricultural view

Some farmers, including Rose Andrews, of Wading River, told Newsday they are wary of the proposal. 

“We’re farmers. We produce, we harvest. We don’t put up luxury hotels," said Andrews, 27, the sixth generation to work on her family's Sound Avenue farm, which grows fresh produce and flowers. “I think we’re opening a door we’re going to wish we could eventually shut.”

The proposal would allow resorts to be built by special permit on minimum 100-acre tracts of land in a zoning district that covers most of the land north of Sound Avenue.

It would require 70% of the property to be actively farmed. Hotels of up to 150 rooms, and amenities like a spa and restaurant, could be built on the remaining acreage.

The code says resorts must be configured “to provide open space views of agriculture,” pushing development closer to Long Island Sound, where one stairway would be allowed for beach access and buildings would be set back 500 feet from the bluffs.

“You will never see it from Sound Avenue,” Rothwell said. 

The proposal also restricts how developers can farm the preserved land that some farmers say are “deal breakers." The proposed law says farming must be “dependent on the use of agricultural soils," or in the ground.

“That to me means maybe no greenhouses, no hydroponics,” said Riverhead farmer Phil Schmitt, who leads the town’s agricultural advisory committee. “We take real issue with them wanting to add more restrictions.”

"Massive vertical farming," where crops are grown without soil indoors, sometimes in shipping containers, also would be restricted, Rothwell said, adding that he wants to promote “agricultural heritage” in line with what exists on Sound Avenue.

Schmitt, 67, yearns for a simpler era.

“I wish I could turn the clock back 25, maybe 40 years when all you saw was potatoes and vegetables. We were loading two trailer loads a night and feeding the city,” he said, wistfully. “And that’s gone.”

At his 200-acre Sound Avenue farm, which is open almost year-round, Schmitt said indoor farming could extend their growing season.

Rothwell said the restrictions only affect land owned by resort developers, who would legally be required to farm the preserved acres.

“This is not a farmer’s land,” he said. “It becomes another tool in the farmer’s shed.”

Preservation efforts spark caution

Rob Carpenter, director of the Long Island Farm Bureau, lauded the preservation efforts but cautioned that farmers must be considered as well.

“All the preserved land in the county means nothing if you don’t have a farmer farming it and having the freedom to do what they need to do to thrive, grow, adapt and change,” he said. “Farmers need the ability to be flexible and use technology.”

Preservationists are equally skeptical of the proposal and doubt luxury resorts will jive with the dirt, dust and manure on working farms.

“Agriculture generates noise, it generates dust, they're running irrigation motors, they’ll have to spray,” said Richard Wines, a Jamesport historian and member of the town’s farmland preservation committee. “They're not going to want real farming there.”

Though the proposal was touted as a way to save farmland and rural vistas on Sound Avenue, “It doesn’t really do either of those,” Wines said.

Properties eligible for resorts

Seven properties, totaling over 700 acres, could be eligible for such developments, according to town planner Matt Charters. Properties for agritourism resorts must have a single owner under the proposed code.

That could lead to 1,050 or more hotel rooms on Sound Avenue.

At least one developer, Westchester-based Alfred Weissman Real Estate, wants to build a luxury waterfront resort at 3994 Sound Ave., a 105-acre plot between Willow Ponds, a community of 222 condominiums, and Briermere Farms.

During a recent tour of the site, company officials laid out their vision for a 100-room resort with a spa, restaurant and mix of agricultural uses, including an organic farm, vineyard and orchard.

“We’d like to do an environmentally friendly farm-to-table experience,” said Michael Cohen, who leads development for the company. “The market was shifting, especially during the pandemic, and people were looking for experiences that were more real, more in touch with local communities.”

Nightly room rates could range from $600 to $1,200, he said.

Other hospitality projects in their online portfolio include Hilton hotels and a luxury resort in Vermont.

The town faced scrutiny earlier this year after it was reported that consultants for the developer had input on early versions of the proposed law, suggesting changes to town officials.

Asked about the revisions, Cohen told Newsday the town ultimately crafted the code to balance the interests of developers, farmers and residents.

“There's a lot of things in the code that we don't like, that limit us,” he said, referring to rules in the proposal that prevent tented events or a catering facility.

Campaign finance records show Weissman Real Estate, Cohen and an affiliate company donated $1,248 to Rothwell and $1,275 to Hubbard in 2023.

Hubbard told Newsday he met with developers as a councilman in 2022, defending the meeting as “common practice” at Town Hall.

“If somebody's looking to do a multimillion-dollar project, they're not going to come in blindfolded and attempt to get something done that may be something that we would never support or allow,” Hubbard said.

“I get the idea of trying to preserve farmland. I’m just not quite sure that this is the best way to do it,” he said.

Rothwell couldn't be reached for a comment about the donations.

A Newsday review of the property eyed for the Weissman resort shows that 70 of the 105 acres are already preserved after Suffolk County bought development rights in 2003.

But a provision in the code says preserved properties can't be factored into hotel development, which means developers must instead purchase farmland preservation credits to build their project. It’s unclear how much additional land could be preserved in that scenario, since it would depend on the size of a proposed resort, according to deputy town attorney Annemarie Prudenti.

Cohen estimated the developer would have to spend roughly $4 million on those credits to achieve their planned number of rooms.

Joseph Genzano, president and general counsel for the real estate company, said the preserved land on site would be leased to farmers at no cost.

"We will give them the land for free and buy the entire crop, and they'll work with the chef to curate the menu," he said.

Genzano also said they plan to privately fund the development without seeking IDA tax breaks.

Sound Avenue's future

Agritourism resorts are hardly the first controversial proposal for Sound Avenue, named a historic corridor by the State Legislature in 1974.

In the 1970s, residents mobilized against Long Island Lighting Co.'s plans for nuclear power plants on what is now the ​​Hallock State Park Preserve. More recently, the Riverhead Charter School dropped plans to expand its high school on farmland in Northville after fierce public debate.

Concerns have rippled east into Southold, where officials worry resorts on Sound Avenue could worsen traffic and negatively impact businesses there. Southold recently enacted a yearlong moratorium on new hotels while planners study whether town infrastructure can handle more development. 

Matt Pendleton, a member of the town's agricultural advisory committee, said the proposal will set a “bad precedent" for agriculture.

“You’re taking a corridor that already gets congested and now you’re putting further congestion on that corridor,” he said. “Farmers east of us are already having issues with tourists trying to come to their farm.”

Andrews said the proposal seems more lucrative for developers.

“I would have a lot more respect for the proposed code if it was for a multigenerational farm that was looking for a new way to do business, but that’s not what this is,” she said. She acknowledged there are merits, from tax revenue for the town to potential payouts to farmers who sell their development rights.

Now eight months pregnant, with hopes of continuing her family's farming legacy with the seventh generation, Andrews ponders the future and character of Sound Avenue.

“Hopefully not a bunch of Marriott, luxury hotels,” she said.