Town Zoning Board Closes File on New Animal Shelter Without Hearing One Word From Concerned Residents

In a startling turn of events the Town of Riverhead Zoning Board of Appeals has informed neighborhood residents that the application file on construction of a new animal shelter on Youngs Avenue in Calverton is closed and that a decision is expected at a hearing scheduled for December 20.

Meanwhile residents have been preparing letters of objection to members of the Zoning Board as well as Town Board Members in hopes that the application can be reopened and new hearings scheduled on this serious matter.

The recent, serious  mauling of an animal shelter officer and  concerns by remaining employees of the current town shelter has left the shelter with but one full time employee.  The location of the new shelter (within a half mile of the Riley Avenue school) is especially troublesome to parents in the area and residents are requesting the support of parent/teachers and the principal at the school.

Residents are astonished that the Zoning Board would choose to render a decision when there is more than sufficient evidence that the applicant  North Fork Animal League has failed to meet the standards for approving a rezoning change from agricultural to whatever is required for animal shelters.

Serious questions remain regarding whether appropriate notification was made to the residents in a specified area of the project or whether the applicant had proven that their application had met the strict standards required by state law.