Residents debate potential Roanoke Avenue zoning shake-up

A potential zoning change within the Business PB (BUS PB) Zoning Use District would allow personal services as a special permitted use and apartments on upper floors, and limit hours of commercial business operation — but residents and some officials are resistant. 

At the Aug. 18 Riverhead Town Board public hearing, senior planner Greg Bergman outlined the proposed amendments to the town’s Business PB (BUS PB) Zoning Use District, which is located on Roanoke Avenue. It begins just north of the intersection with Northville Turnpike and extends just south of the traffic circle at Old Country Road.

Mr. Bergman said a hair‑treatment studio application triggered a closer look at what is allowed in the Business PB district. When he reviewed the code through the lens of “impacts,” he concluded that personal‑service uses like this are generally low‑impact, as they don’t generate heavy traffic or involve outdoor activity or storage that would harm nearby homes.

The current code allows roughly 19 different types of professional office uses, including accountants, dentists, real estate agents, medical doctors, physical therapists, engineers and several others. Mr. Bergman said the existing code defines personal services as “a commercial use that provides specialized hands-on services directly to individuals as for personal or physical benefit.”

By obtaining a special permit from the Town Board, interested business owners could open other personal services in the Business PB district, including fitness studios, beauty services, massage therapy, personal coaching, pet grooming, cultural and educational studios and skincare services. Dry cleaning and laundry services are excluded within the amended Business PB zoning use district. Business operations would be limited to a seven-hour period, between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m.

Riverhead Town Assessor Laverne Tenneberg began by voicing her opposition to the code change to accommodate personal services businesses, arguing it would be a “detriment to adjacent residential property owners” and other “stately” homes in close proximity. 

With Roanoke properties already struggling with on-site parking, she warned tenant parking from permitted upper-floor apartments would further create insufficient parking and cause overflow onto side streets, as well as in front of people’s homes. She further argued that the new uses being proposed for Business PB are available elsewhere in eight different zoning districts throughout Riverhead.

“Why would this board add uses currently not permitted in the zone when a business owner has a plethora of opportunities to locate their business in a zone where it is permitted?” Ms. Tenneberg asked. “Why are we contorting ourselves to accommodate one person’s request at the expense of many others?”

Cindy Clifford of the Heart of Riverhead Civic Association, agreed with Ms. Tennenberg, adding that purchasing a property in one zoning district and expecting to be permitted outside uses “is a backward way to do things.” She also mirrored that there are many zones available in town.

“There are a million places; we’ll help him find a place to put his hair salon,” Ms. Clifford said.

Kimberly Wilder of Riverhead noted the need to shorten allowable business hours further, if they are to be permitted adjacent to residential properties.

“It doesn’t take into account the life of children,” she said, “I don’t think most hair salons need to open at 5 [a.m.] and most businesses that are squeezing into a residential neighborhood don’t need to open at 5 [a.m.]”

“The holistic look at Roanoke needs to be considered,” said Toqui Terchun, president of the Greater Calverton Civic Association. “The idea that vacancies elsewhere where this zoning is allowed should be a sticking point in your decision making.”

Councilwoman Joann Waski explained her reasoning for considering the zoning code revisions, saying the idea was to avoid building vacancies by allowing low-impact personal services to occupy existing commercial Roanoke properties as office tenants leave. 

“It’s not specifically to one particular person,” the councilwoman said. “It was opening up the uses for other things that could possibly go in the buildings that have already been converted from residential into a commercial business.”

The written comment period for the public is open until Friday, Aug. 28.