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Farm Country files plans with state in hopes of staying put

BARBARAELLEN KOCH PHOTOS | The entrance to Farm Country Kitchen in Riverhead.

Farm Country Kitchen has submitted a site plan application that seeks to deal with the West Main Street eatery’s parking problems, according to Peter Danowski, the attorney for restaurant owner Tom Carson.

In June, Riverhead Town authorized legal action in state Supreme Court against the popular waterfront restaurant, claiming it lacks necessary permits and doesn’t have enough parking.

Farm Country last week submitted a new site plan to the state Department of Environmental Conservation to try to address the town’s problems, according to Mr. Danowski. The plan was submitted first to the DEC, rather than the town, because there are DEC issues that must be addressed before the town can consider it, given the restaurant’s close proximity to the Peconic River, Mr. Danowski said.

“We’ve hired Young an Young [a local planning and engineering firm] and they’ve designed a concept plan to provide onsite parking, and to address the site plan issues raised by the town,” Mr. Danowski said.

Riverhead Supervisor Sean Walter confirmed Thursday that Farm Country had submitted a site plan, but he added, “I don’t know how they are going to accommodate parking at that location.”

Mr. Danowski said the site plan shows eight on-site parking spaces, which he said is all that is required given the number of seats at the restaurant.

“That’s all that’s needed,” he said. “Mr. Carson has also looked into establishing some off-site parking locations.”

Mr. Walter said in June that that Mr. Carson “cannot do what he’s doing” at the riverfront location.

“He cannot have a full-fledged restaurant, no parking, no traffic control, no handicapped access, and basically no permits,” Mr. Walter said at the time.

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