Major Housing Complex Proposal Sees Resistance From Westhampton Beach Neighbors

Westhampton Beach residents voiced their disapproval last week at a meeting of the Village Planning Board of a large 52-unit housing complex being proposed in their modest neighborhood along Rogers Avenue.

This proposal came just days after another developer pitched a proposal to the Village Board for a 16-unit senior housing project on a vacant property across the street on Old Riverhead Road, below the Dunes housing community, also known as Timber Ridge.

The property owner and developer of the new proposal, listed as Rogers Associates, LLC, is proposing to build 52 housing units in 13 townhouse buildings, an on-site sewage treatment plant and a private community center and swimming pool over two phases. Rogers Associates shares the same address as the project’s architect and management firm, Carriage Hill Developers, based in Wantagh.

Representatives presented the preliminary plans during the Planning Board meeting on Thursday, September 26, to board members and a room full of Rogers Avenue residents who waited to voice their opposition and concerns during a public comment period.

Of the 52 units, eight would be one-bedroom affordable housing units at roughly 1,200 square feet, another eight would be three-bedroom units at 2,300 square feet, and the remaining 36 would be two-bedroom units ranging from 2,000 to 2,250 square feet. All units would be two stories and have full basements.

The 2,850-square-foot community center would house the swimming pool, an exercise room, a billiards room, a common area and bathrooms and showers. An outdoor recreation area is also being proposed for pickleball courts and bocce ball.

The 9-acre parcel, which is actually six adjoining properties, housed a former asphalt plant that closed in 2005 because the village prohibited such an operation after neighbors complained of traffic issues and potential health hazards stemming from the plant.

The land is currently zoned to allow for multi-family housing. The remaining Rogers Avenue neighborhood is zoned for single-family housing.

At the Planning Board meeting, 10 neighboring property owners objected to the project, citing as the primary concern increased traffic on a street that is already considered a safety hazard because drivers who take it as a shortcut onto Old Riverhead Road are known to exceed the speed limit.

“It's become such a community in the last 10 years, that it's wonderful,” Rogers Avenue resident Cynthia Schunk, who served on the village Planning Board in the late 1960s, said to the board. “And then this gets presented to us. And not that we didn't know something was going to happen up there, but the density alone is just overwhelming to me.”

Board Chairman David Reilly notified residents before the presentation that the application would undergo a lengthy review process and go before several boards before final plans were approved.

“What you see tonight is probably not what is going to be there at the end of the road. So just have a little patience with what is going on here,” Mr. Reilly said. “We do have a number of procedural issues that we have got to deal with.”

The board did not make a decision at Thursday’s meeting as the developer needs to submit a long environmental assessment form to the building department. Once that is filed, the board can determine at its October 10 meeting whether to start the state-required environmental review process, known as the State Environmental Quality Review Act.