A step forward for Riverside sewer project with vote for new district

Southampton Town has taken a key step toward unlocking revitalization in the hamlet of Riverside that borders downtown Riverhead by forming a local sewer district.

Last week the town board unanimously adopted a resolution that created the district and set boundaries for what homes and businesses will be able to connect to a sewage treatment plant that is slated for construction.

Town officials and community leaders have said for years that the introduction of such a facility would be vital to spurring development in the economically distressed area of Southampton Town along the Peconic River.

The treatment plant will bring environmental benefits as well, officials said, by reducing nitrogen runoff and improving water quality.

Funding for the approximately $44.6 million project is in place, mostly through county, state and federal grants, according to town officials. They said an earlier projection pegged the cost at around $35.5 million but the price went up largely due to increased costs for construction and materials.

Southampton Supervisor Maria Moore said in an interview about the project's step forward that sewers “are necessary now where we’re living in order to protect the water quality and allow for some revitalization of some areas that desperately need it.”

Lawsuit threat

A total of 237 properties are included in the new district under the first phase, according to a report from engineering firm Nelson + Pope.

The plan for the treatment plant isn't without opposition. Some Riverside residents raised concerns recently about the proposed site’s proximity to an elementary school along with the costs of a sewer district for taxpayers.

The plan also recently faced pushback from Riverhead Supervisor Tim Hubbard. During an April 9 State of the Town address, he said construction of a treatment plant in neighboring Riverside could lead to residential development that would funnel more students into Riverhead's schools and drain other resources in that municipality.

Hubbard said he was “adamant that Southampton's sewer district include the County Center and Correctional Facility, which currently use Riverhead’s sewer treatment plant” and threatened “to pursue legal action.”

Moore, the Southampton supervisor, said last week the treatment plant won't have enough capacity initially to take over those facilities but will during a second phase expansion.

Riverhead hasn't filed a lawsuit, but recently hired outside counsel for advice on the matter. 

Moore added in an interview that Southampton officials “determined that it wouldn't be productive” to meet with Riverhead officials after Hubbard threatened a lawsuit. Hubbard didn't respond to a request for comment Thursday.

A 2015 Riverside Revitalization Action Plan projected that if the treatment plant was built, 2,300 new housing units could be added in the hamlet — half of which could be affordable apartments.

Moore said the town plans to revise that plan, along with a previously adopted overlay district that rezoned the area, so less density is allowed.

“We don’t want to overwhelm the hamlet,” she said, adding that the amount of development initially projected was “perhaps a little ambitious.”

Groundwork finished

The sewer district in the first phase will include about .36 square miles of Riverside's 5.2 square miles. The second phase expands that by .74 square miles. The town has proposed building the plant on a vacant property of about 11 acres on Enterprise Zone Drive in Riverside. 

Southampton officials will turn next toward developing the engineering design for the plant, according to Janice Scherer, the town's planning and development administrator.

Moore said after that, the town will seek bids for a contractor for the engineering and design — a selection she said could take about a year before the construction phase could take around two more years.

“Even though it sounds like three years is a long time, the hard part has been done now, laying all the groundwork,” she said.

Homeowners in the sewer district are expected to pay an average of $225 per year to fund the plant.  Officials have said that number could decrease as more development comes online.  In 2022, Riverside's median household income was $56,429, compared with a county average of $119,838, according to the latest U.S. Census figures.

Vince Taldone, a former president of the Flanders, Riverside and Northampton Community Association, urged Southampton officials earlier this month to move forward with creation of the sewer district.

“The people of Riverside and Flanders have been waiting forever for the redevelopment and that sewer must happen for that redevelopment to happen,” he said at a public hearing.

Thomas Fredette, who co-owns a property near the Riverside traffic circle where the business Peconic Paddler is located, said the lack of sewer connection has put several redevelopment plans for the land on hold.

“The sewers are the lifeblood of redevelopment,” Fredette, 61, said in an interview. “We’re excited that things seem to be moving in the right direction.”

With Tara Smith

By Joe Werkmeister

joe.werkmeister@newsday.com

Joe Werkmeister covers the towns of Southampton, East Hampton and Shelter Island. He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and previously worked as the editor of two North Fork community newspapers.

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