By Charles Stannard
ESSEX— The zoning commission’s Jan. 25 denial of a special permit for a large Rite Aid pharmacy at 124 Westbrook Road has been appealed to Middlesex Superior Court.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday by Old Saybrook lawyer Thomas Cloutier, who represented Acquisition Holdings LLC, the prospective developer of the pharmacy, during the town approval process. Also parties to the lawsuit are Thomas Rose of Cheshire and William Moran of Clinton, owners of the Oliver’s Tavern building that would have been demolished to make way for the pharmacy, and Robert and Virginia Olson of Portland, owners of the Essex Veterinary Clinic on the abutting 114 Westbrook Road property. The Rite Aid plans called for a secondary entrance through the veterinary clinic parcel, and Robert Olson has spoken in support of the project during the public hearings last fall.
The commission rejected a special permit for the proposed 14,673 square-foot pharmacy on a 4-1 vote. The panel had cited unresolved traffic issues as the key reason for the denial.
The court appeal contends the commission acted “contrary to Connecticut law and evidence presented at the public hearings” in denying the permit for a project that was consistent with the town’s plan of development. The suit contends the commission denied the permit application “despite the substantial evidence that the application complied with all applicable zoning regulations.” for the commercial zone on Westbrook Road, also known as Route 153. It contends “no credible evidence was presented to the commission to support its reasons for denial.”
The project had drawn opposition from many residents who claimed during the public hearings it was a “big box store,” that would worsen traffic problems at the busy intersection of Westbrook Road and Bokum Road. Rite Aid had planned to relocate from leased space in the nearby Bokum Center Shopping Plaza to the new building if the permit had received approval. The lawsuit has an April 6 return date.
By Charles Stannard
ESSEX— The zoning commission’s public hearing on permit applications for the proposed 14,673 square-foot Rite Aid pharmacy at 124 Westbrook Road will resume Monday at 7 p.m. in the auditorium at town hall.
The hearing, which began on Sept. 21 and continued on Oct. 19, focuses on the special permit and earth removal permit applications submitted by Acquisition Holdings LLC for construction of a 14,673 square foot Rite Aid on the site now occupied by the Oliver’s Tavern building. Separate public hearings are scheduled for Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m.on revisions to existing permits and site plans for the Essex Veterinary Clinic at 114 Westbrook Road and the Essex Paddle and Tennis Club because plans for the Rite Aid call for separate entrance through the veterinary clinic property that would change approved site plans for the clinic and the tennis club parcels.
Nearly 100 residents turned out for the two previous hearings, with most, but not all in the crowd expressing opposition to the size of the proposed pharmacy building and the possible impact of the project on traffic patterns around the busy intersection of Essex Road, Route 153, and Bokum Road. The new Rite Aid would replace the existing pharmacy located in leased space at the nearby Bokum Corners shopping plaza.
The commission is expected to receive a petition signed by 178 residents calling for increased scrutiny of the Rite Aid project, including a review of design plans for the new building by an ad hoc committee of local architects.
Marian Staye, zoning enforcement officer, said any petition received Monday would not change the commission’s time line for action on the Rite Aid applications. Staye said professional traffic consultants for the town and the applicant, who were unable to attend the Oct. 19 hearing, will be present at the session Monday. After it closes the public hearing, the commission will have 65 days to act on the permit applications.
By: Charles Stannard
ESSEX–The Zoning Commission has received a new application for a 14,673 square-foot Rite Aid pharmacy on the Oliver’s Tavern property at 24 Westbrook Road.
Marian Staye, Zoning Enforcement Officer, said the commission is expected to schedule a Sept. 21 public hearing on the special permit application for the pharmacy and a related special permit application for earth removal. The application was submitted by Acquisition Holdings LLC of Hartford, on behalf of the Rite Aid chain. The applicant is represented by Old Saybrook lawyer Thomas Cloutier. An earlier application for the project was withdrawn at the start of a March 16 public hearing.
The plans call for an 14,673 square-foot pharmacy on a 2.32-acre parcel, which also includes a small portion of the adjoining Essex Veterinary Hospital parcel at 114 Westbrook Road.. There would be two drive-through windows at the rear of the building for drop off and pick up of prescriptions.
There would be a total of 81 parking spaces, 58 to be built and space for an additional 23 spaces held in reserve. The existing Oliver’s Tavern building that was constructed in 1980 would be demolished after the property is sold to Acquisition Holdings.
The project calls for earth removal, including the removal of 7,400 cubic yards of material and the addition of about 5,400 cubic yards of new fill. A new septic system would be constructed for the building. The application estimates the earth removal activity that would precede construction would require 665 trips by 20-cubic yard dump trucks. Hours for the site preparation work would be 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.
If the new store wins town zoning approval, Rite Aid would vacate its existing leased space at the Bokum Corners Shopping Center, located on the opposite side of Westbrook Road (Route 153).
This is the second proposal for a large chain pharmacy in Essex over the past six years. An application for a Brooks Pharmacy on the former L.C. Doane Co. property on Main Street in the Centerbrook section was rejected by the zoning commission after lengthy public hearings in 2004. Brooks, a Rhode Island-based company, was later acquired by the Rite Aid chain.
