Meeting held on Wading River zoning plan
Susan Matura, left, Jane Boccafola, Vivian Daddino and Diane Sadowy, all from Wading River, look at a map showing land along Route 25A that a planning firm hired by the Town of Riverhead has proposed by rezoned for multifamily housing and professional offices. The rezoning would be aimed at curbing the construction of more shopping centers in the area. (Feb. 4, 2012) Credit: Randee Daddona
Planners hired by Riverhead to help chart the future of Wading River's business district favor curbing the number of shopping centers by rezoning 42 acres along Route 25A for multifamily housing and professional offices.
The recommendation comes as residents raise concerns about a spread of retail centers in the area. There are several existing centers, and plans for several more in the works.
About 400 people attended a two-hour presentation Saturday in the meeting hall at St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church in Wading River by Buckhurst Fish & Jacquemart Inc. The Manhattan planning firm has been studying the community since September, when the town decided to update its master plan.
Overdevelopment has been a hot-button issue in the area since the late 1980s, according to Sid Bail of the Wading River Civic Association.
The town's last master plan update in 2003 failed to reduce the amount of property zoned commercial, he said.
"In the past year, there has been a plethora of retail proposals," Bail said.
During the meeting, Frank Fish, who is a partner in the planning firm, gave each resident red and blue stickers, and asked them to paste them on charts showing what they liked and didn't like about their community.
The results were dramatic.
Boxes labeled "strip malls" and "traffic and noise" overflowed with negative red dots, while boxes marked "natural buffers" and "environment" were filled with positive blue dots.
The problem, Fish said, is that the town can't rezone commercial property for park use without getting sued by the property owners.
"I can't zone for open space," he said. " . . . To get no development, you have to buy the land."
Wading River resident Cindy Bogard, who attended the meeting, drives to work at Hofstra each day. "I like our rural feel," she said. "I commute to Nassau, and I can't wait to get back home."
The planning firm has already held meetings with Wading River landowners and business owners, and its report is to be posted on the Riverhead Town website.
The firm will also make a formal presentation to the town board at its Feb. 22 meeting, and depending on how long it takes to perform an environmental review, the town could be ready to vote on zoning changes in Wading River by April.
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