Wading River group to get say on zoning

After a year of Wading River residents complaining that their community's rural character will be destroyed by the many new commercial projects proposed for the area, Riverhead town officials have set up a special two-hour weekend workshop to give those homeowners a chance to talk face-to-face with the consultant reviewing zoning in the hamlet.

The review could lead to a moratorium on future construction and a change in the town's master plan.

"It could be the beginning of the end of Wading River as we know and love it," said Dominique Mendez, president of the Riverhead Neighborhood Preservation Coalition. "We have six proposals in a mile-and-a-half stretch of this semirural town . . . four shopping centers alone."

Her group has filled Town Hall several times in the past year, demanding a moratorium on development and a change in zoning that would stop future construction.

At times, harsh criticism flowed between residents and the town board, which has argued it cannot randomly change zoning and must first prove the need for the change.

Supervisor Sean Walter said the residents acted like a special interest group, demanding private meetings with the town consultant reviewing existing zoning.

But at a town board meeting last week, the neighborhood coalition issued a conciliatory statement and pledged to tone down its rhetoric.

On Feb. 4, coalition members will get a chance to talk to the town consultant between 10 a.m. and noon at St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church, 1488 North Country Rd., Wading River.

"It's what we were promised," Mendez said. "We expect a good turnout, but it's hard to know these things. It's the day before the Super Bowl."

Walter, in a prepared statement, said local residents could discuss their concerns and "share their ideas on the type of development they feel is compatible for this area."

The consultant, Buckhurst Fish & Jacquemart Inc., of Manhattan, is looking at the area of Wading River along Route 25A from the Brookhaven Town line to Hulse Landing Road, the commercial center of the hamlet.

In a preliminary report to the town board at a work session this month, Buckhurst Fish & Jacquemart said several parcels totaling 24 acres should be rezoned to categories that do not permit commercial development.

Developers have already submitted applications to build on two of those parcels, and could go to court if the town changes the zoning.

Riverhead's master plan, updated a decade ago, originally saw Wading River as a small, rural hamlet with enough business-zoned property to serve its local population. As the plan evolved, more commercial space was added.