Southampton Town is considering revising its 10-year-old plan to redevelop the hamlet of Riverside, dramatically scaling back the potential development of this long-neglected area just across the river from downtown Riverhead.
The initial plan, approved in 2015, allowed for the building of up to 2,300 residences in the area, but that plan was based on an assumption that there would be far greater access to sewage treatment.
Pictured Above: The intersection of Old Quogue Road and Flanders Road, across from the Riverside Maritime Trail Park, which opened last year and is expected to be upgraded soon with a kayak launch and fishing pier.
A new proposal, presented to the Southampton Town Board at its April 3 work session by consultants from the planning firm Historical Concepts, would allow just 967 housing units to be built, along with 72,000 square feet of commercial space.
Riverhead Town sued Southampton Town in August of 2024 over Southampton’s plan to build a sewage treatment plant and create a sewer district, a $35 million project in the works for over a decade that is in the final planning stages.
Riverhead’s suit alleges there will be “potentially significant adverse environmental impacts on the Town of Riverhead and the Riverhead Central School District arising from the future development of up to 2,300 residential units within the Riverside area” as a result of the sewer district.
Parents and teachers at the Phillips Avenue Elementary School, adjacent to the site of the proposed sewage treatment plant, have also objected to its location.
Southampton has recently revised the sewage treatment plant plan to allow it to serve the school, which town planners say will also help the school’s potential expansion efforts.
Janice Scherer, Southampton Town’s Planning and Development Administrator, pointed out at the work session that the earlier plan relied on an estimate that the sewage treatment plant could handle up to 800,000 gallons of septic flow, but that plan, which relied on filtering the effluent through a constructed wetlands adjacent to the Peconic River, proved to not be feasible.
The plant as currently proposed would instead treat up to 290,000 gallons of effluent, returning it to the groundwater after it is treated.
Historical Concepts representatives Paul Knight and Elizabeth Dillion proposed the addition of several cross streets near the traffic circle at the center of the hamlet, similar to development patterns in other communities.
Mr. Knight said his firm looked at towns including Mystic, Connecticut; Pittsford, New York and New Hope, Pennsylvania , all of which “have a core downtown, which transitions away from the core.”
In Mystic, he said, “on the other side of the river they have a looser structure of buildings, blocks and streets. Riverhead is the core downtown, and Riverside can be that smaller character.”
In Riverside, however, some street blocks are 3,000 feet long, while in Mystic, the blocks are only 300 to 400 feet long.
The consultants proposed new cross streets to break up those blocks, most of which would be on parcels that are already owned by the town and slated for “urban renewal” redevelopment, and others of which are “owned by individuals who expressed interest in development,” said Mr. Knight. “It’s not every time that you can get in these new streets in a way that works out this well. I was quite pleased with it.”
“This allows us to line these streets with new buildings… It creates a new there, there,” he added. “You’re missing this middle scale development. Not everybody can afford a single family home, and not everybody wants to live next to a housing complex.”
He added that the redevelopment could include cottage courts, senior housing, small duplexes, condo buildings, mixed use buildings with retail on the ground floor and apartments above, and potentially a small commercial court similar to Amagansett Square.
Ms. Scherer said the consultants and the planning department have been getting feedback from the community and the school about the initial concept, but plan to do further outreach with the blessing of the Town Board.
She said the reaction so far has been a “mixed conversation,” with the school district concerned about the already overcrowded school.
“The town is hooking up the school to the (sewer district) infrastructure, as a water quality project so they can expand, because even a school is limited by sanitary flow,” said Ms. Scherer. “We’re working with the school and the community to get to a point where everyone is satisfied.”
“We will have a neighborhood that allows additional folks like teachers who work in the school,” to live there,” she added. “Maybe they can just walk over to the school they work in. Our Community Housing Fund can help with that.”
She added that the revitalization plan can allow incentives for developers to contribute to expansion of the school in exchange for increased density of construction.
The next step, the planners said, was to create a map with the new “paper streets” on it, and to figure out how they interact with existing land use.
“Anyone who thought we were going to put down hundreds of housing units with no obligation toward public streets was kidding themselves,” added Ms. Scherer. “Those are non-negotiable things that must happen.”
“Most of the land owners I’ve spoken to are excited about this,” said Town Attorney James Burke. “They’ve been looking forward to this for years.”
“We will be talking to property owners, and working with them on density ideas that translate to the blocks,” said Ms. Scherer.
“This whole presentation makes sense. I know it’s the vision I have in mind, and I think everybody else is happy too,” said Town Supervisor Maria Moore.
“I know the Riverside and Flanders area has really been looking for an opportunity like this,” said Councilman Michael Iasilli. “This shows we’re giving much-needed attention and economic opportunity.”
Councilman Bill Pell said he hopes the redevelopment includes a grocery store, and returning Councilman Rich Martel, who was sworn in at the start of the meeting, said he was concerned about the idea of creating a walkable hamlet area around Flanders Road, which is a heavily trafficked artery.
Councilwoman Cyndi McNamara said the commercial redevelopment should provide added tax base for the school district, and urged that developers not be given property tax abatements, which could be issued by the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency.
Historical Concepts’ presentation can be viewed online here.
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