Fore!: Golf cottage plan raises luxury resort development concerns

A proposed town code change that would allow golf courses to build cottages as large as 1,200 square feet, double the size recommended in the town’s 2024 comprehensive plan, sparked heated debate at a public hearing Jan. 21.

At the heart of the controversy: concerns that the larger cottages could pave the way for luxury resort-style development at the two golf courses that would be impacted — Friar’s Head and Baiting Hollow Golf Club.

The proposed changes would allow cottages to be built on 18-hole courses as a “transient lodging option” for golfers or visitors who wish to stay on a golf course. 

Under the proposal, each cottage would require the purchase of one farmland preservation credit through the town’s transfer of development rights program, which permanently removes development rights from one acre of farmland in designated agricultural areas.

The cottages could be as large as 1,200 square feet each, with a maximum of 18 cottages per “standard golf course.” The proposed legislation would allow the cottages as freestanding structures or attached structures with common walls to separate individual units. As written, the proposed code states that the cottages not be used as residences. 

The discrepancy in size struck a nerve with residents and some local leaders, who pointed to the comprehensive plan’s recommendation that golf cottages have a maximum size of 600 square feet. The plan also details that cottages “be limited to one bedroom unit with kitchenette.”

“The town would essentially permit the construction of a hotel or motel structure of almost 21,000 square feet on the golf course if they could be attached as permitted in the code as written,” said Greater Jamesport Civic Association president Laura Jens-Smith, echoing concerns of about a dozen residents at the public hearing. 

She cautioned the board to clarify the proposed code to ensure it doesn’t become “residential development by another name.”

“Could the attached structures be anything else? Such as a restaurant, health club, a spa or an office,” she said. “This entire section of the proposed code should be rewritten to be clear and specific and it should eliminate the development of attached cottage units.”

She supported golf cottages as an accessory use to support local tourism, but recommended stipulations that they be kept “cottage scale” and that units be detached, single-unit structures to prevent a larger-scale development.

Other residents said the code should be more explicit as to lengths of stay, who would run the cottages and clarify whether the cottages would be in use year-round or just during the warmer months. 

Councilwoman Joann Waski said the push for 1,200 square feet came about after work session discussions among the Town Board. She noted that larger families, like hers, look for places with 1,200-square-foot lodging when researching vacation spots. 

Ms. Waski added the Town Board’s intention was not to provide for hotel development on a golf course.

Councilman Ken Rothwell said the cottages could be a way to keep golf courses economically viable in town. He pointed to the closure of private golf course Calverton Links in 2013, which has since been redeveloped as a solar farm.

“These are different ways to keep costs maybe a little bit more reachable from the hard-working middle class to allow things like that to keep golf courses viable,” Mr. Rothwell said. “It’s about making certain that the town doesn’t drastically change over time and that you keep these golf courses and you give them tools to be viable.”

Riverhead Town senior planner Greg Bergman said the law, as written, would ensure that 125 acres be dedicated to golf course use and that a small golf course with a resort would not be able to be built using the proposed new legislation. 

“These are intended for transient lodging options for visitors wishing to stay on a golf course,” Mr. Bergman said. “There is no stretch that I can get to or arrive at the conclusion that these are resorts or any way implying that this is a way to sneak that in.”

“I can tell you with the straightest face and the absolute certainty that there is nothing maligned that I have found,” added Town Supervisor Jerry Halpin of the proposed changes. 

Representatives from both Friar’s Head, which abuts the Long Island Sound in Riverhead, and Baiting Hollow Golf Club did not respond to requests for comment by press time.

Sid Bail, president of the Wading River Civic Association and a member of the 2024 comprehensive plan update’s steering committee, said he felt the legislation for golf cottages was “not ready” and was surprised by the change in maximum size to 1,200 square feet. 

“They need some refinement so that [the cottages] are in the best interest of all of us,” Mr. Bail said. 

The board will accept written comments on the proposed legislation through Feb. 2.