Golf cottage plan too much of a swing, some residents say

Riverhead residents want the town to scale back a proposal to allow golf courses to build cottages on their grounds, citing concern about the potential for resort-style development on Sound Avenue.

The town is considering changing its code to allow for operators of standard 18-hole golf courses to build one cottage per hole to promote tourism and spur economic development while preserving farmland.

At the hearing, residents offered mixed views on the proposal.

Craig Vasey, of Wading River, said the cottages wouldn’t have a negative impact on traffic and would boost tourism. “Continuing to support our golf courses is the only way to go,” he said.

Some likened the concept to short-term rentals, which they said could bring traffic and noise complaints. Others supported the idea but urged the town to make revisions and get ahead of developers who could exploit the code to build something more akin to a resort. The proposal would allow buildings with “common walls separating” the units.

“They could form one big building, a total size of 21,600 square feet,” Kathy McGraw, a Northville resident, said at the hearing. She added that the board should “return to the tee box and start over.”

In an interview on Friday, town senior planner Greg Bergman said he plans to revise the code and present it to board members at an upcoming town work session.

“I don’t see any stretch how you can get a resort or spa out of what’s written, but I have no problem incorporating language to make that explicitly clear, to sort of assuage some of those fears and concerns, strengthening it,” Bergman said.

Comprehensive plan

The concept stems from a proposal in the town’s comprehensive plan, which envisioned 600-square-foot, one-bedroom units on golf courses in all zoning districts. Town board members opted to double the square footage after a discussion in September, agreeing that larger units can accommodate families traveling together.

Under the proposal, golf courses could use farmland preservation credits to build one cottage per hole. Cottages are defined in the draft law as either freestanding or attached units capped at 1,200 square feet.

Construction would require using preservation credits, which allow development rights to be “transferred” to encourage preservation in one area and building in another.

“Essentially, one golf cottage would result in the preservation of one acre of farmland,” Bergman said during a hearing on Wednesday.

Two golf courses in the town would qualify under the proposed code change, which limits allowable courses to the RA-80 zoning district, a residential area north of Sound Avenue. Town officials could later expand the code to include other courses. 

Councilman Ken Rothwell said the proposal is intended to give golf courses another way to generate revenue while maintaining Riverhead’s rural character.

“I don’t want to see all our golf courses start filling up with solar,” he said Wednesday, referring to other courses that have been converted to solar farms. “It’s about making certain that the town doesn’t drastically change over time, and that you keep these golf courses and you give them tools to be viable.”

Environmental concerns

Some residents raised concerns over environmental impacts.

Barbara Blass, of Jamesport, said while it’s a “creative idea” to promote preservation, it warrants more analysis. Blass also noted the town’s code currently prohibits preservation credits from being used on golf courses.

Astrid Lehmann, of Baiting Hollow, said she lives between two golf courses but criticized the town for its strict short-term rental policy.

“There are a lot of mom-and-pop people who kind of do this short-term rental stuff, and they are being excluded while other people are being allowed,” she said.

Riverhead prohibits rentals of less than 30 days in residential areas. No minimum stay is proposed for the golf cottages, which the proposal describes as “transient” and can’t be used for long-term stays.

Bergman said he could also draft guidelines to prohibit attached units to avoid hotel-style development. But he said the town board will set the policy and maximum size.

Riverhead Town is accepting written comments on the current proposal until Feb. 2, officials said.