Judge tosses Riverhead lawsuit over plan to revitalize Riverside hamlet in Southampton

A judge dismissed a Riverhead lawsuit that sought to block Southampton from building a new sewage treatment plant key to revitalizing Riverside, an economically distressed hamlet that borders downtown Riverhead.

The ruling removes a potential impediment to Southampton Town's plan to revitalize the hamlet with new commercial and residential development. The town board approved the Riverside Sewer District in 2024, enabling homes and businesses to connect to a future $44.6 million wastewater treatment plant. Southampton officials said the plan calls for 1,085 new units of housing and roughly 400,000 square feet of new commercial development.

Suffolk State Supreme Court Justice Paul M. Hensley dismissed the lawsuit Tuesday with a three-page decision, capping more than a year of litigation.

Riverhead lacked standing, failed to bring the challenge in a timely manner and should have named Suffolk County as a "necessary party" in the lawsuit, Hensley ruled.

Riverhead sued Southampton in August 2024 to nullify the sewer district. The town sought to force Southampton into conducting a more comprehensive environmental review that better accounted for the district's potential impact on Riverhead. The lawsuit also sought to have the new district serve three Suffolk County facilities that have been under Riverhead's purview since the 1960s. The three facilities are technically in Southampton Town but have a Riverhead postal address: Arthur M. Cromarty Court Complex, Riverhead Center and Riverhead Correctional Facility.

The hamlet sits on the border of the two towns. Its residents share schools, library services and a fire department with Riverhead residents.

Riverhead also accused Southampton of violating the state’s Green Amendment, which guarantees “a right to clean air and water, and a healthful environment.” But Hensley ruled the sewer district will “by all accounts, increase a healthy environment and have a positive impact.”

Southampton Supervisor Maria Moore said in a text message to Newsday: “I was pleased to receive the court’s decision this week. In spite of the lawsuit, I’ve maintained a positive working relationship with Supervisor Hubbard, but it’s good to have the litigation behind us as we each continue to address the concerns of our respective communities.”

Riverhead Town Attorney Erik Howard said in an emailed statement that the judge’s decision “was unexpected in that special counsel retained by the Town failed to submit any opposition to Southampton’s motion to dismiss.” He said the town is “seeking clarification” on why that occurred and that his office will move to appeal or reargue the motion, “as we believe legitimate and substantive claims were [not] properly considered by the court.”

A decade of planning

Plans to revitalize Riverside have been in the works for more than two decades. In 2015, Southampton adopted the Riverside Revitalization Action Plan, which envisions a mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented neighborhood as well as new zoning laws to implement the plan.

But that vision could not be realized without a way to treat the wastewater coming from new residents, restaurants, offices and other buildings, and so the plan languished for years as the town sought funding for the plant.

The town's current plan for housing is greatly reduced from earlier projections. A 2015 revitalization plan and its zoning contemplated a maximum of 2,267 new housing units. The sewage treatment plant's design will support only 1,085 new housing units, less than half what the zoning allows, Southampton town planners said during an Oct. 2 work session.

The higher-density housing will be located closer to the Riverside traffic circle, which is connected to downtown Riverhead by Peconic Avenue. Southampton has filed maps with the state for new roads in Riverside, which will connect existing roads and accommodate new developments in the revitalization area.

If a developer builds new roads, the project can receive a bonus sewage capacity of 15% — allowing for higher-density development, said Janice Scherer, Southampton's planning and development administrator.

A variety of housing types are permitted in the area, Scherer said, including single-family homes, accessory apartments on existing single-family properties, town houses and apartments over commercial spaces.

Smaller buildings eyed

Scherer said new developments will not be “big podium buildings” like Riverhead is encouraging in its downtown, but a mix of one- to four-story buildings. The plan is to make Riverside the “gateway” into Southampton, she added.

Moore expressed concern during the meeting about concentrating affordable housing in one section of the hamlet. Scherer noted that affordable housing is available for people who earn up to 120% of the median income. Rent for affordable housing will be close to be market-rate rent. 

Riverside ranks as one of the most impoverished communities on Long Island — the median household income is $41,397, according to U.S. Census data. That’s about a third of the median household income of both Southampton Town at $121,111, and Suffolk County at  $126,863, Census figures show.

The town board is considering purchasing properties in Riverside and designating them for affordable housing.

In August, the town board held a hearing on a plan to spend $2.4 million to buy three blighted properties just east of the traffic circle. Developer Georgica Green Ventures would build 40 affordable apartments. The town would tap its Community Housing Fund, which generates revenue through a real estate transfer tax, that has amassed nearly $31 million so far, Newsday has reported.