Planning Board to reopen public hearing on Heritage at Cutchogue
The Planning Board is scheduled to continue discussing the controversial Heritage at Cutchogue proposal at 6 p.m. Monday.
While the developer has reduced the number of housing units and pledged to use advanced wastewater treatment systems, many residents said during the Jan. 11 public hearing they still don’t support the proposed 55-and-over community project because they believe the high-density plan will negatively impact the environment and their quality of life.
The Planning Board is holding the public hearing to discuss the proposal’s draft environmental impact study, known as DEIS, which is published on the town’s website.
The development was first proposed in the early 1980s for a nearly 46-acre property on Schoolhouse Road off Main Road in Cutchogue. The latest version of the plan came nearly a year after the developer, Jeffrey Rimland, and the town reached an agreement following a 2009 lawsuit filed by Mr. Rimland that claimed the town “acted with malice” to hinder the development by changing the zoning for the site.
The town has since agreed it wouldn’t change the property’s zoning or allowable uses until the proposal goes through the Planning Board’s evaluation. Currently, 124 housing units are proposed, as well as a clubhouse, outdoor swimming pool and tennis court.
In addition to the town’s review of the proposed development, the Suffolk County Planning Commission has jurisdiction over the proposed site plan because the property is within 500 feet of an agricultural district and state lands. The commission hasn’t made any determinations and is currently reviewing the proposal.
Photo: The Southold Town Planning Board’s Jan. 11 public hearing to discuss The Heritage at Cutchogue’s development plan. (Credit: Jen Nuzzo)
