Riverhead planning board approves Summer Wind final plat despite stop-work order; neighbors demand pause and independent review

The Riverhead Planning Board reviewed and reaffirmed its prior selection of a final sketch plan for the Summer Wind subdivision on Sept. 3, 2026, after staff summarized a multi-year review of sketch plans, traffic assessments and engineering conditions. Greg Bergman, senior planner, told the board the applicant had satisfied many conditions of the preliminary approval and that consultant reviews favored the proposed site access configuration (option 6). "The conditions of the preliminary plat have been satisfied," Bergman said, summarizing staff recommendations and the list of remaining conditions that must be addressed before a final plat can be filed.

Many residents urged the board to pause action and to require independent and transparent review of on-site work before signing any final plat. Ruth Arnone (73 Foxchaser Place) told the board the project site before them was not the same site previously reviewed and alleged that engineering information had been "falsified". Arnone asked the board to "table this vote" until legal matters and an on-site inspection are completed. Other neighbors described the loss of "100 year old" trees and asked for stronger enforcement and reparations for the clearing. "We are asking for something much more fundamental, that the rules be followed," Arnone said.

Town counsel Danielle reminded the board that a stop-work order is currently in effect and that the town attorney and the applicant's counsel were discussing the violations; she said enforcement actions were separate from the planning board's review and that the stop-work order should not be the board's deciding factor. Bergman and other staff told residents that certain clearing and removals were contemplated in prior plans to achieve required sight distances and to construct the recharge basin and roadway, but acknowledged that some on-site activities had already occurred.

Residents and civic groups repeatedly asked the board to defer final approval until justice-court citations are adjudicated and until the town confirms remedial steps. Joan Cyr, representing the Greater Jamesport Civic Association, asked the board to "table the vote" and conduct a physical site inspection with the plat in hand. Members of the public also urged that the consulting engineer's recommended performance security (bond) — noted in the staff packet at $920,000 — be required. The board briefly left for executive session to discuss legal matters related to the project; on return, members moved forward with several resolution votes tied to site approvals. The meeting record shows the board approved certain resolutions and adopted language that "no further site work shall be performed prior to the filing of the signed final plat with the Suffolk County Clerk and satisfaction of all applicable conditions of this resolution."