Riverhead board delays Calverton cannabis project over noise study

The Riverhead Planning Board stopped Brother Bear Canna’s Calverton greenhouse plan from moving ahead until the company files an acoustic modeling study. The requirement came at a June 18 discussion-only meeting over the proposed cannabis facility at 1458 Middle Road, where board members questioned the applicant’s noise submissions and pressed for clearer information about the equipment planned for the site.

The noise review is the latest hurdle in a year-long land-use fight over the project. On Jan. 8, the Riverhead Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously rejected two variance requests tied to the proposal, including permission to cover 24.04% of the property with impervious surface instead of the 15% allowed under town code and to install an eight-foot woven-wire deer fence where six feet is the maximum. After that setback, the applicant returned to the Planning Board on May 22 with a revised plan, and Senior Planner Greg Bergman said the company had reduced impervious surface coverage by eliminating paved parking areas and shrinking the greenhouse.

The current version calls for a roughly 31,782-square-foot greenhouse on a 5.3-acre parcel. It also includes an I/A sanitary wastewater system, an asphalt driveway, drainage improvements, site lighting, fencing, landscaping and mechanical equipment, all of which have fueled opposition from nearby residents. Neighbors from Windcrest East and Foxwoods have been warning since Nov. 6, 2025, about odors, noise, property values, traffic and other impacts, and by December the dispute had broadened into a debate over how Riverhead Town Code should classify the use. The applicant describes the project as agricultural, while opponents argue it functions more like industry.