Government

Public hearings set on two Planning Board proposals

A proposal to legalize a bistro in Jamesport that was built without permits and a proposal to add a new traffic signal on Route 58 will be the subjects of public hearings before the Riverhead Town Planning Board.

The board voted Thursday to schedule those hearings for its July 5 meeting, which starts at 7 p.m.

Jamesport Vineyards’ proposal is to legally obtain approvals for a bistro, expansion of the gravel parking lot and installation of new pole-mounted lighting fixtures on the 4.2-acre site.

Officials say the vineyard built a 477-square-foot outdoor pizza bistro in 2012 without approvals from the town or county health department.

Town planning aide Greg Bergman said that under town law, the site plan fees charged to Jamesport Vineyards will be double because they built without town permits, and final site plan approval cannot be granted until those fees are paid.

The Main Road vineyard also will need a special permit from the Riverhead Town Board, which discussed the proposal at a work session recently. The site plan approval must come from the town Planning Board.

The main winery building on the property was built with town building permits and a certificate of occupancy in 1993, Mr. Bergman said.

Route 58 traffic signal

The owner of the existing Marriott Residence Inn and Hilton Garden Inn on the north side of Route 58, across from Tanger Outlets, is seeking to amend its previously approved site plan to allow for a new traffic signal to be built at the west end of the seven-acre site.

Currently, cars leaving the hotel property can only go west, and they the must make a U-turn near Splish Splash in order to go east.

The traffic light proposed for the west end of the property would involve removing a portion of the existing guardrail so that traffic coming out of the hotel property could go east or west. It would also allow eastbound traffic going into the hotel property could make a left from Route 58, while westbound traffic heading into the hotel could do so from the new signal or from the existing entrance, which will remain.

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