5 things to know about Riverhead's road map for future development

Riverhead's proposed new master plan seeks to strike a balance between progress and preservation, from protecting undeveloped farmland to boosting its downtown with shops and attractions along the Peconic River.

The comprehensive plan, last updated in 2003, if approved, will guide the town's future development and serve as a basis for key zoning changes, officials said.

“It addresses our current needs, and hopefully it addresses some of our needs into the future,” Supervisor Tim Hubbard said.

Riverhead paid two firms more than $780,000 to complete the project. Manhattan-based BFJ Planning finished the work after the town board fired AKRF in 2022, citing slow progress.

“Riverhead is the last bastion in Suffolk County,” town planner Greg Bergman said. “It still has a lot of land and needs to be developed in a reasoned manner.” 

Town officials have scheduled a public hearing on the updated plan at Town Hall for Monday at 6 p.m. The town hopes to adopt the plan by August.

Here are five things to know about the proposal:

Scaling back industrial development

Officials halted industrial projects in Calverton for six months in January in response to several large warehouse proposals, including a 641,000-square-foot logistics center, while studying zoning updates.

The plan recommends a new zoning district, Calverton Industrial, for vacant industrial land on Middle Country Road. It could allow offices, manufacturing, warehouses and recreational facilities, but at a smaller scale. Increased setbacks and design rules could reduce visual impacts.

“It lightens the load a little bit,” Hubbard said, adding heavier industrial uses should be limited to the Enterprise Park at Calverton, an industrial park with manufacturing plants and warehouses.

The master plan also recommends allowing private schools, including charter schools, in industrial zones. Riverhead Charter School’s plans to expand faced steep pushback earlier this year, with charter school officials saying current town zoning restricts where they can build.

Tools to 'encourage preservation'

The plan also would overhaul a farmland preservation program that would allow developers to buy development rights from farmers and redeem them for credits to add more square footage or building height in areas where development is encouraged. It also would increase the number of properties eligible for the program.

Nearly 7,000 acres of farmland are eyed for protection, according to officials.

“We’re using as many tools as we can to encourage preservation,” Riverhead Community Development director Dawn Thomas said.

More, and varied housing

The plan suggests eliminating the minimum requirement for new homes to 1,200 square feet and relaxing regulations for accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, which are secondary living spaces on the same lot as a single-family home, to increase housing options. Suggestions include reducing parking requirements for ADUs from two spaces to one and striking a rule that requires homeowners have a certificate of occupancy for the structure for three years before applying for an accessory apartment permit.

New overlay districts could pave the way for an affordable housing and community center at the First Baptist Church and encourage assisted living facilities close to Peconic Bay Medical Center, medical offices and shopping, according to the plan.

Riverhead’s median age is 52, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures.

Sprucing up downtown

As downtown revitalization continues, the plan calls for reusing blighted buildings, improving walkability and raising the bulkhead along the Peconic River to protect against flooding.

The plan says there are 14 sober homes downtown and recommends using state building standards to limit the concentration in one area.

Town law caps the number of apartments downtown to 500 units, which the plan estimates will be reached by 2029. Consultants recommend the town reevaluate the cap to allow developers to exceed it if they provide homeownership opportunities or senior living and purchase farmland credits.

Cindy Clifford, who chairs the Heart of Riverhead civic group, said she’s concerned about the “proliferation” of apartments, many of them in five-story buildings.

“It isn’t that we shouldn’t have any,” she said. “But they don’t fit.”

Boosting agro-tourism

Officials want to entice visitors to stay longer and spend more both downtown and at area farms.

Citing a demand for hotels, consultants recommend allowing “agritourism resorts” on Sound Avenue farms if a majority of the land has been preserved.

Though Riverhead currently has a 28-day minimum for home rentals, the plan says that allowing short-term rentals “in more popular areas near the downtown and beaches can boost and sustain local businesses.”

Laura Jens-Smith, a former town supervisor who chairs the Greater Jamesport Civic Association, said easing Airbnb rules could drive up home prices for first-time buyers and negatively impact the area.

“Having a lot of rental properties erodes away at the quality of the neighborhoods,” Jens-Smith said.