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Rite Aid Hearing Again Draws Crowd in Essex

By Charles Stannard

ESSEX—More than 100 residents turned out again Monday as the zoning commission continued its public hearing on permit applications for a 14,673 square-foot Rite Aid pharmacy at 124 Westbrook Road.

The session, which lasted nearly four hours, was continued to Monday at 7 p.m. in the auditorium at town hall, when the panel will open separate public hearings on required revisions to the site plans for the nearby Essex Veterinary Clinic and the Essex Paddle and Tennis Club that would be modified as part of the Rite Aid project. The public hearing on the main permit applications began on Sept. 21 and continued on Oct. 19.

Opponents of the project, including several transported by van from the Essex Meadows retirement community on Bokum Road, pressed their claims the proposed pharmacy building is too large and would generate significant traffic congestion around the intersection of Westbrook Road, Route 153, and Bokum Road. Plans call for demolition of the Oliver’s Tavern restaurant building that is now on the site, with the new Rite Aid to replace an existing Rite Aid located in leased space at the Bokum Corners Shopping Plaza on the opposite side of the road.

The session also produced an offer from the developer, Acquisition Holdings LLC represented by former state representative Robert Landino of Chester, to consider changes recommended by a professional traffic consultant retained by the commission.

Susan VanBenschoten, a town resident, recommended aligning the access driveways for the pharmacy and the shopping center. Bruce Hillson, the traffic consultant for the developer, agreed to consider the change, while noting that having the two driveways directly opposite could generate problems for delivery trucks serving the pharmacy.

VanBenschoten said the mismatched access driveways is “the biggest safety issue,” related to the project. She also suggested a direct left turn arrow be added to the traffic light at the intersection with Bokum Road, noting the light is already frequently used by people leaving the shopping plaza.

As was the case at the September hearing, VanBenschoten concurred with Hillson’s conclusion the intersection and surrounding roads have sufficient capacity to handle any additional traffic generated by the pharmacy. “Whether it’s busier than people like, that’s someone’s opinion,” she said.

Landino, noting there a few small independent pharmacies left in Connecticut, said the larger building is “the current model,” for the pharmacy business. Landino said the developers are willing to consider suggestions from the commission on the design of the building, which commission member Hope Proctor said “feels out of place,” with the surrounding area.

The operating hours for the proposed Rite Aid would be Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. The building would have an assessed value of $1.7 million and generate about $8,000 in new tax revenue to the town.

Posted by admin on Tuesday, November 24, 2009 at 2:40 pm 
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  • swo68
    Shame on Essex Meadows, Yes they are the largest taxpayers in the town, but you added 200 to 300 cars a day on the worst road in Essex. Have any of you thought that it is weird that the owners of Olivers building wants to sell it out from under them? Maybe there's more to the story here. We all know that Olivers does not draw the crowds it use to, have you looked at the building? it's falling apart, there's vacancy for the last 2 years at least. Something to think about. Do we really think that this new store is going to attract all this traffic? After Westbrook and Deep River added pharmacy's? For what I hear the people in these towns are very happy with there pharmacy's, Why would they come back to Essex. Have you been in the Rite Aid? There's no more lines like there use to be since these other locations opened up. I live within a mile of the store and I go to Old Saybrook to get my prescriptions, I don't have any plans to going back to Rite Aid. Rite Aid had a perfect location picked out 2 or so years ago. Now what do we get to look at when you get off exit 3? A big eye sore. Essex did not want to give the local pharmacy and competition, WELL that back fired now didn't it? We now have local people going to Old Lyme because they didn't want to deal with a chain store. How do we know if the Rite Aid store doesn't get approved that Olivers will stay? WHO do we know that the building that is mostly vacant won't be more vacant and be a worst eye sore? I don't think you are going to see the big traffic problem there as you think. There are not the accidents there now, there are far more at other intersections in town. The problem is nobody can come up with a number that is correct of how many accidents there are now in these intersections, problem being is when accident reports are filled out these streets have to many names, or a route number. Route 153 or Plains Road? Route 153 or Westbrook Road? When the reports are filled they are filled with different names so theres not really a number you can put on accidents now, or what may happen in the future. Rite Aid has done everything to make this building look nice, met requirements. If a building owner wants to sell his building a nice plan has been brought in front of the town, a new up to date building, SAFE, who are we to say what can be done.
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