Calverton cannabis facility rejected by Riverhead zoning board

The Riverhead Town Hall boardroom erupted in applause last Thursday, Jan. 8, after the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously rejected variance requests for a proposed cannabis cultivation facility in Calverton. 

Brother Bear Canna, LLC had sought to build a one-story, 33,700-square-foot “greenhouse” at 1458 Middle Country Road. The applicant sought a ground variance from the allowable 15% of the property to 24%, as well as an exception to surround the over five-acre property with an eight-foot wire deer fence, instead of the town-permitted six feet.

After careful consideration of all testimony and evidence, the Riverhead ZBA weighed the benefit of granting the area variance request against the “detriment” an approval would have on the “health, safety and welfare of the community.”

The board voted 5-0 to deny the application at the Jan. 8 meeting, preventing the applicant from moving forward with a site plan review by the Riverhead Planning Board.

The Riverhead News-Review reached out to Larry Davis, the attorney for Brother Bear Canna, for comment. He confirmed in an email on Tuesday he is no longer representing the applicant. It is unclear at this time if Brother Bear Canna has new legal representation.

Since November, Calverton residents have voiced concerns about Brother Bear Canna’s application to build the cannabis growing operation in close proximity to over-55 communities Windcrest East and Foxwoods, as well as neighboring homes where children reside.

Their concerns included the possible negative impact the odors could have on elderly people with respiratory illnesses, on property values, the environment, and increased traffic and noise pollution.

Opponents also noted an issue in the property’s categorization as a traditional agricultural greenhouse within the Agricultural Protection District. In a letter sent to the Riverhead ZBA by the Calverton Civic 1458 Committee on Dec. 11, they argued that the materials submitted by the applicant described a facility with characteristics more commonly aligned with an “industrial controlled-environment or vertical farming operation, rather than conventional greenhouse agriculture.”

The proposal included industrial-scale elements such as a nearly 34,000-square-foot metal structure, 24/7 operations and large-scale HVAC systems. The facility would also rely on artificial LED lighting independent of natural sunlight and include on-site “drying, curing, trimming, packaging and potential extraction activities,” the committee wrote in its letter.

Many opposed to the plan attended a Planning Board meeting on Nov. 6, requesting a 90-day window to research and review information relating to the new construction.

Toqui Terchun, Greater Calverton Civic Association president, and other local homeowner association presidents circulated a petition that garnered over 250 signatures in opposition to the project. 

“The proposed use simply has no basis in traditional farming,” the petition read. “The quality of life, health and security of the neighborhood is at risk. The environmental impacts to the surrounding areas are immense, including the impact of additional lost land for wildlife.” 

Ms. Terchun thanked the Zoning Board of Appeals for its decision following last Thursday’s vote.

“I want to thank you for your time, your care and your seriousness with which you brought to your review of this application,” she said at the meeting. “The residents appreciate that the decision reflects the record developed through the hearings and the impacts discussed — regardless of what comes next for the applicant, the community recognizes the effort the board made to evaluate the evidence before it.” 

This story has been updated.