Public workshop on Wading River study today, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Wading River residents will get a chance today, Saturday, to weigh in on the town’s ongoing Route 25A corridor study — without having to travel too far from home.
A public workshop will run from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at St. John the Baptist R.C. Church in Wading River.
Town officials agreed last month to schedule the workshop after taking heat from civic leaders and others for not allowing more community involvement in the zoning study, which is being used to update the Route 25A corridor portion of the town’s comprehensive plan.
“I hope residents will take this opportunity to come and discuss their concerns and share their ideas on the type of development they feel is compatible for this area,” Riverhead Supervisor Sean Walter said in a statement announcing the public workshop.
The study’s preliminary results were released at a Town Board work session last month.
The firm conducting the zoning study, BFJ PLanning are thus far proposing that four Route 25A properties, comprising 24 acres in the hamlet, be rezoned to a different category that doesn’t permit retail — even though large commercial applications have already been approved for two of the parcels.
Two properties for which rezoning is proposed are the 14-acre Condzella Farm property on the north side of Route 25A, next to the vacant ice cream store, and the eight-acre John Zoumas property across the street, adjacent to the CVS pharmacy. Large commercial developments are currently proposed for both properties.
The other properties that would be affected by the rezoning proposal, both owned by Kenn Barra, are the land immediately east of the Condzella property and a 1.8-acre parcel on the west side of the Route 25A-Sound Avenue intersection.
A public meeting on the study is also set for Wednesday, Feb. 22, at 6 p.m. in Town Hall.
Town officials said in a release that “the goals of this study are to identify potential development parcels, guide future development in a sustainable way, to preserve community character and to promote standards that enhance the physical character and quality of life for the hamlet of Wading River.”
Check back later for coverage of the event, and look for updated information in the Feb. 9 Riverhead News-Review newspaper.
