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Applicant told to prove preexisting use as Riverhead board defers hair-salon variance to Sept. 10
Summary
Eugene Cook, owner of 1397 West Main Street, asked the Riverhead Zoning Board of Appeals for a variance to open a hair salon in the Riverfront Corridor. Staff said the last certificate of occupancy dates to 2008 and that Cook must provide evidence of continuous commercial use; the board scheduled a continued hearing for Sept. 10, 2026.
Eugene Cook, who said he owns 1397 West Main Street in Riverhead, told the Zoning Board of Appeals on July 9 that he wants to convert roughly half of the building—about 1,250 of its 2,500 square feet—into a small beauty salon.
Cook said the building has hosted a series of commercial uses over the decades, including a Newsday distribution center, retail tenants, a boat repair shop, a small-engine shop and a propane vendor. He said he submitted affidavits, a neighbor support letter and a petition of about 20 people in favor of the salon.
Board staff and an agency official told Cook the town’s records show the last certificate of occupancy for the structure was issued in 2008. “I believe for the building we’re speaking about tonight, the last certificate of occupancy was 2008,” the agency official said, and cited town code section 301-222(c), which staff said can result in loss of a preexisting use after a year of abandonment.
The official read the legal criteria for a use variance to the applicant, including that the applicant must present competent financial evidence that the property cannot realize a reasonable return, that any hardship is unique to the property, that granting the variance would not alter the essential character of the neighborhood, and that the hardship was not self-created.
Cook said he believed his attorney had done due diligence before he purchased the property two to three years ago, and that his understanding was that prior commercial uses would make a salon permissible. “I just assumed it was commercial,” Cook said, and added that he wants to help beautify West Main Street and attract more small businesses to the corridor.
Board members and staff advised Cook to consult counsel and to supplement the record with documents that could demonstrate continuous preexisting use or provide the missing certificates of occupancy. Because Cook’s counsel and several board members had scheduling constraints, the board agreed to continue the hearing and set a new date.
A motion to set the continued hearing for September 10, 2026 passed by voice vote. No use variance was granted at the July 9 meeting; the board left the matter open so the applicant may submit the requested COs, affidavits or other evidence required under the town code. The hearing is scheduled to resume on Sept. 10, 2026.
