An Aquebogue cannabis cultivator operating on preserved Suffolk County farmland is looking to expand his operation with the construction of two buildings for indoor, climate-controlled cultivation. The Suffolk County Farmland Committee approved the plan in March 2025, conditioned on approvals by the Town of Riverhead and the Office of Cannabis Management.
Kevin Alfonso, the operator of Island Grow at 1017 Main Road, met with Town of Riverhead planning department staff members Tuesday morning in a pre-submission conference — a preliminary meeting held before an applicant submits a formal application to the town. Alfonso attended the meeting with his consultant, Eric Olsen of MTK Advising. Supervisor Jerry Halpin also sat in on the meeting.
The site is active farmland preserved by Suffolk County with the purchase of development rights in 1997, county documents show. It is currently owned by John Sipala, who grows nursery stock on a portion of the approximately 60-acre property, Suffolk County Farmland Committee staff wrote in a report for the committee last March. Sipala leases the northern portion of the property to Alfonso.
The property is located in the town's RB-80 zoning use district. Alfonso, a state-licensed cannabis cultivator, has been growing cannabis on the property for the past three seasons, he said in an interview at Riverhead Town Hall this morning. He's been utilizing existing plastic covered greenhouses on site.
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