Now more than ever, local news matters.

Now more than ever, local news matters.

It was an unusually large turnout for what is typically an obscure procedural meeting that draws little public attention. But Calverton residents alarmed about a proposal to build an immense logistics center on Middle Road filled the seats in the Town Hall meeting room last Thursday.

They turned for the Riverhead Planning Board’s “scoping session” on the proposed Riverhead Logistics Center, a 641,000-square-foot warehouse distribution facility at 1743 Middle Road, opposite Manor Road in Calverton. MORE COVERAGE: Public hearing set on scope of environmental review for 641,000-square-foot warehouse proposed Middle Road in Calverton

Most neighboring residents who weighed in at the meeting had one issue at the forefront of their minds: truck traffic. Residents urged the Planning Board to require the applicant to broaden its analysis of traffic impacts, both in terms of the number of projected truck trips generated by the ultimate — and as yet undisclosed — tenant(s) in the facility, and in terms of the geographic area that would be impacted by the truck traffic resulting from the use. The area around the proposed logistics center site in April 2021. Image: Google Earth

The development site, though zoned industrial, is surrounded by residences and farmland, Middle Road resident Danielle Kilfoyle told the Planning Board. Local roads in the area are “residential roads, with children riding bikes, pedestrians. They’re not meant for tractor trailer and box truck traffic,” she said.

Kilfoyle said using traffic flow data based on trip generation for warehouse uses projected by the Institute of Transportation Engineers is “problematic,” because the developer has not disclosed the identity of a tenant or tenants. Developer NorthPoint Industrial of Kansas City, Missouri, says it is building the logistics facility “on spec” for future lease to as-yet unidentified tenants, or a single tenant.

“Depending on the company who occupies the space, the traffic could be much more than” the “already staggering” peak trip data projected in the draft scope, Kilfoyle said.

The impact “study should go beyond peak hours,” she said. “As far as I know distribution facilities can be operational 24/7. We need to see the full picture.”

Kilfoyle also pointed out that the draft scope calls for studying two intersections — Route 25/Manor Road, Middle Road/Deep Hole Road and Middle Road/Manor Road. She said that is inadequate, as traffic generated by the proposed logistics center will surely affect other intersections in the area, including the intersections at Route 25/Edwards Avenue and Middle Road/Mill Road.

“How are these intersections physically able to accommodate tractor trailers and box trucks and will the increased traffic volume require them to be reworked?” Kilfoyle asked. Linda Nemeth of Calverton said truck traffic on local roads associated with sand mining and other industrial uses in the Calverton area are already making roads hazardous for pedestrians and cyclists. Photo: Denise Civiletti

Linda Nemeth of Calverton said Middle Road is “like a race track of 12- to 15-ton vehicles carrying I don’t know how much sand” from an active and expanding sand mine off Manor Road. “The four-way stop at Mill and Middle is horrendous already,” she said. Tractor-trailers hauling sand are “certainly not exiting on Manor, from Manor to 25,” the route for eastbound traffic projected by the Riverhead Logistics draft scope. “They’re going up Mill Road,” Nemeth said. “They’re coming down to the traffic circle on Middle, and I’m not sure where else.”

She spoke of experiencing diesel fumes being emitted by current truck traffic, which she said will increase significantly when the proposed logistics center is operational.

“Imagine if these warehouses come through with thousands of deliveries a day,” Nemeth said. “Our infrastructure is not prepared for this. Middle Road is barely wide enough. I walk on that road. Many of my friends walk on that road every day. I ride a bike on that road because it’s supposed to be also bicycle friendly. You can barely be on that road because the edges are broken off or worn away. The imposition of all of these fumes, the noise, the light, the lack of the filtering trees that we had become a devastating health issue,” Nemeth said.

Sonny Kilfoyle of Calverton told the Planning Board the ITE trip distribution data for warehousing does not present an accurate picture of traffic that will result from a distribution and logistics center. He cited a December 2021 Consumer Reports article referencing a traffic analysis for a 680,000-square-foot Amazon distribution facility and a much smaller warehouse next door, which found that together, the two facilities generated almost 6,000 vehicle trips per day, including more than 2300 diesel truck trips, Kilfoyle said.

“Companies like Amazon, Walmart et cetera hide behind developers like NorthPoint in order to get into a community without having to reveal hard data of the traffic flow in their existing…facilities,” he said.

“The draft needs to consider that NorthPoint isn’t the only speculative distribution center on the table within a 2.66 linear-mile span,” Kilfoyle said.

“The combined square footage of North Point and HK Ventures is roughly 1,052,000 square feet,” he said. “Based on the aforementioned data [as reported by Consumer Reports] we can assume that a 700,000-square-foot distribution center generates roughly 117 vehicle trips per square foot of the facility per day — which means that together, NorthPoint and HK could generate roughly 8,991 vehicle trips per day combined. These numbers don’t account for the other large scale industrial developments slated for the area,” he said.

“The draft scope also doesn’t give us any information on what percentage of these trips are from diesel vehicles. The same Consumer Reports article states breathing in tiny particles from diesel and gasoline exhaust increases a person’s chance of getting asthma, developing cancer or having a heart attack,” Kilfoyle said. “Decades of studies have shown children in the elderly are particularly vulnerable… clearly the draft needs to offer more comprehensive data so that the planning board can make informed decisions considering the potential harm to our community members and our environment.” Members of the Riverhead Planning Board listen to public comment during the Sept. 15 scoping session for Riverhead Logistics Center’s DEIS. Photo: Denise Civiletti

Other residents also chided officials for neglecting to consider cumulative impacts of the various large-scale logistics and distribution warehouse facilities in the hamlet.

Taken together, the proposals could be “the demise of Calverton as we know it,” Kathy McGraw, of Northville, told the Planning Board.

“Evaluating each with blinders on is completely contrary to SEQRA,” she said, referring to the State Environmental Quality Review Act, which governs the review of all actions that may have significant adverse environmental impacts.

Barbara Blass of Jamesport, citing a Newsday article detailing the “proliferation of speculative warehouse development” on Long Island, “to the tune of approximately 11 million square feet across the island, and about 2 million square feet… slated for the hamlet of Calverton,” said “the DEIS should evaluate the market demand demand and weigh that against the identified long term benefits to the local community.

Nemeth addressed the board about the proposed clear-cutting of the wooded 37-acre site to make way for the logistics center. She compared it to the clear-cutting of more than 11 acres of woodlands off Route 58 for the Costco shopping center, which she said has created immense noise and light pollution problems for the residents of Foxwood Village, a senior community located off Middle Road in Calverton.

Last week’s meeting was a continuation of the session begun on Sept. 1, when technical difficulties prevented people seeking to comment via Zoom from participating in the meeting. After hearing all comments made in person and by Zoom last week, the board closed the meeting, but kept the record open for 10 days, until Sept. 26, for the submission of written comments.

As the lead agency charged with reviewing the development application, the Planning Board, under state law, must adopt a statement detailing the scope of the draft environmental impact statement for the project. It’s an important step in the review process in order to ensure that the environmental impact statement adequately assesses all of the potentially significant adverse impacts of a development, including the environmental and natural resources, community character and infrastructure.

The project sponsor typically prepares a draft scope, outlining in detail the topics it proposes to address in the DEIS, then the planning department and the public comment on the draft scope and the Planning Board adopts a final scope, which serves as the blueprint for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

The DEIS is required to assess the potential significant negative impacts of an action and identify and evaluate measures Eventually the lead agency adopts a final environmental impact statement which guides decision-makers in making decisions on site plan applications, variances and permits. The survival of local journalism depends on your support. We are a small family-owned operation. You rely on us to stay informed, and we depend on you to make our work possible. Just a few dollars can help us continue to bring this important service to our community. Support RiverheadLOCAL today.

The survival of local journalism depends on your support. We are a small family-owned operation. You rely on us to stay informed, and we depend on you to make our work possible. Just a few dollars can help us continue to bring this important service to our community. Support RiverheadLOCAL today.