Hoping for revitalization, Riverhead seeks to ease state rules along Peconic

Riverhead Town will attempt to get state-imposed land use restrictions along West Main Street eased.

The town board Wednesday authorized consultants Nelson Pope and Voorhis to seek the changes from the state Department of Environmental Conservation under the Wild, Scenic and Recreational Rivers Act.

State regulations currently in place along West Main Street from Mill Road to Tanger Outlets limit new commercial uses to retail uses “directly associated with river recreation” and low density residential uses.

If the request is granted, new commercial uses beyond river-related retail uses would be allowed — though commercial uses are limited to “dry stores or equivalent facilities.” A variety of restrictions would still apply to new commercial uses, including: a minimum lot size of three acres; maximum lot coverage of 10 percent; a 30-percent minimum undisturbed area of developed lots; and a 100-foot setback from the road.

Residential uses under the “community” designation would still be limited to one single-family dwelling per two acres, which is the same as the density allowed under the “recreational” designation, but no DEC permit will be required. Multiple dwellings are allowed, with DEC permit, at a density of one unit per two acres.

The state DEC amended its regulations to create the “community” designation in 1994. The new designation was intended to be less restrictive on land use than the “recreational” classification, and to permit development on lands in and around existing hamlets, villages and towns in areas classified as recreational or scenic. The new designation is believed by Riverhead officials to be the DEC’s response to complaints about the severe restrictions imposed by the state when in 1987 it declared a 13.5-mile stretch of the Peconic River a “scenic” river and 7.5 miles of the Peconic a “recreational” river. The river corridor boundaries, which specifically determine which parcels are subject to state regulation, were set by the DEC in 1990.

In 2007, Riverhead asked the state to designate a “community” within the recreational river corridor: most of West Main Street on the south side of the road, between Grangebel Park and Mill Road. The DEC granted the designation in January 2010, after holding two public hearings at which the Peconic Baykeeper, the Group for the East End, the Citizens Advisory Committee for the Peconic Estuary Program, the North Fork Environmental Council and the Town of Southampton voiced objections.

The change in designation now being sought by the town would affect 57 parcels — a total of about 157 acres. Only four of those 57 lots are vacant land; 49 of them were developed prior to the imposition of the state regulations in 1987. Nearly two-thirds of the pre-existing uses on the developed lots are commercial uses.

Charles Voorhis told board members discussions with state DEC staff indicate that the agency would look favorably upon the town’s request.

Town officials hope the community designation would help spur redevelopment of the West Main Street area.

The consultants estimated earlier this year they would charge an additional fee $26,500 for the extra work on the “community designation” beyond the scope previously approved as part of Riverhead’s Brownfields Opportunities Area program contract. The additional fee will be paid out of the $567,000 N.Y. Department of State grant awarded to the town to conduct the BOA nomination study. The town board in October 2012 selected Nelson, Pope and Voorhis to complete the BOA nomination study at a fee of $467,930. The selection came after a competitive process in which the town issued a request for proposals; it got 10 responses to its RFP.

The BOA study is supposed to provide an in-depth description of the BOA and a detailed analysis, including an economic and market trends analysis, of existing conditions, opportunities, and reuse potential for properties located in corridor, particularly “strategic sites that are catalysts for revitalization.” It should also make recommendations for redevelopment and revitalization.

If the state likes the nomination study, Riverhead could be chosen for the next step in the program, the development of an implementation strategy detailing specific measures to be taken and site assessments for specific brownfields properties within the area.