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 Monday denied a special permit for a proposed new and larger Rite Aid pharmacy on the Oliver’s Tavern property at 124 Westbrook Road.
After five months of review and a four-part public hearing attended by dozens of residents, the panel rejected the required permit on a 4-1 vote. Commission Chairman Alvin Wolfgram, members Hope Proctor and Susan Uihlein and alternate Lillian Mosa voted for the denial, with member Jeffrey Woods opposed.
The commission focused on traffic issues in rejecting the plan to construct a 14,673-square-foot Rite Aid on the parcel that now contains Oliver’s Tavern. If the plan was apprioved, the restaurant building would have been demolished and Rite Aid would have relocated from existing leased space at the Bokum Center Shopping Plaza on the opposite side of Westbrook Road, also known as Route 153.
Wolfgram, who led the discussion, said he was not satisfied with a traffic study sponsored by the applicant, Acquisition Holdings LLC of Hartford, because it did not include traffic counts from the summer months. The study, done by Glastonbury-based traffic engineer Bruce Hillison, had concluded the new pharmacy would have “no adverse effect on the pattern, flow, intensity, or character of traffic in the area.”
But Wolfgram contended the study, and a review done by a traffic consultant selected by the commission, local resident Susan Van Benschoten, raised questions about traffic safety . He said the issues included the timing of an improved pedestrian crosswalk in relation to traffic signals at the busy intersection of Westbrook Road and Bokum Road, and the location of entrances for the new Rite Aid and the existing shopping plaza.
Woods questioned whether the commission was setting up a situation “where nobody is going to meet the criteria for traffic.” Woods said he does not believe approval of the Rite Aid in a commercial zone with mixed uses would establish a precedent for other large stores on Route 153. Mosa said a smaller store, in the range of 11,000 square feet, would generate less traffic and be more suitable for the area.
Robert Landino, a former state representative who represented Acquisition Holdings, and Thomas Cloutier, the attorney for the partnership, declined to comment after the vote on whether they would appeal the decision to Middlesex Superior Court.
By Charles Stannard
ESSEX— The zoning commission has deferred discussion of the permit applications for a large Rite Aid pharmacy on Westbrook Road to its Jan. 25 meeting.
Commission Chairman Al Wolfgram announced at Monday’s meeting that all discussion of the controversial proposal for a 14,763 square-foot pharmacy would be held at the Jan. 25 meeting. The commission closed a four-part public hearing on the permit applications on Nov. 30, and now has 65 days, or until the first week of February, to vote on the applications.
The panel Monday also continued to Jan. 25 the public hearing on a permit application for a Snap Fitness 24-hour fitness center at the Bokum Center Shopping Plaza. The fitness center would be located on a vacant 4,050 square-foot space formerly occupied by the Essex Paint and Wallpaper store.
Michele Rossignoll, a representative of the Minnesota-based fitness franchise, said club members would access the center through a key card system. The center would be monitored by surveilance cameras.
Rossignoll said Snap Fitness clubs, which are now operated in Newtown and Ridgefield with one planned for Old Lyme, each have an average of 400 members. But she said the peak occupancy for the centers at any given time would be 10 to 12 people.
Wolfgram asked Rossignoll to provide documentation of the peak occupancy because of limited parking at the shopping center. “That will help us justify where we are in the parking situation,” he said.
The shopping plaza, built in the mid 1980s, has a total of 147 parking spaces. It also houses an IGA grocery store, a liquor store, and a Rite Aid pharmacy that would relocate if the plan for a larger pharmacy is approved. No one spoke in support, or in opposition, to the fitness center during Monday’s hearing.
By: Charles Stannard
ESSEX– The zoning commission will hold a public hearing Monday, December 21st on a special permit application for a Snap Fitness 24/7 fitness studio at the Bokum Center Shopping Plaza on Westbrook Road.
The commission, in a session scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in town hall, may also begin its discussion of the controversial proposal for a large Rite Aid pharmacy on the site of the existing Oliver’s Tavern building at 124 Westbrook Road. The panel closed a four-part public hearing on permit applications for proposed 14,763 square-foot pharmacy on Nov. 30. The commission has 65 days, or until the first week of February, to act on the permit applications.
The Snap Fitness studio, a franchise of a Chanhasen, Minn.-based company, would be located in the 4,050 square-foot space at the shopping plaza that was formerly occupied by the Essex Paint and Wallpaper store. Members of the fitness club would have access through a key-card security system.
By Charles Stannard
ESSEX— The zoning commission has closed the public hearing on permit applications for a 14,673 square-foot Rite Aid pharmacy at 124 Westbrook Road and now has 65 days to act on the application.
About 75 residents turned out for the fourth session of the hearing Monday night, slightly fewer than the numbers at the previous sessions on Sept. 21, Oct. 19, and Nov. 23. The proposal by Acquisition Holdings LLC calls for building the Rite Aid on the parcel now occupied by the Oliver’s Tavern restaurant building. The larger pharmacy would replace an existing Rite Aid located in leased space at the Bokum Corners Shopping Plaza on the opposite side of Westbrook Road.
The developers, represented by former state representative Robert Landino of Chester and Old Saybrook lawyer Thomas Cloutier, presented architectural design changes for the pharmacy building. “We’ve done our very best to make responsive changes to your suggestions,” Cloutier said.
Dennis Riuox, project architect, said the changes include reducing the “tower element” over the store entrance, and use of different building materials, including hardwood shingles. The average height of the structure would be 27-feet 3-inches.
The developers also presented an alternative entrance off Westbrook Road that would be directly opposite the entrance to the shopping plaza. Alinging the entrances had been suggested at the Nov. 23 hearing by Susan VanBenschoten, a local resident who is a professional traffic consultant retained by the commission.
But at Monday’s session, Van Benschoten said alinging the entrances could create other problems that include eliminating a “left turn pocket,” in the roadway. Commission Chairman Alvin Wolfgram said the panel would decide which entrance plan it prefers when it deliberates on the application.
Opponents of the project continued to press claims the larger pharmacy would lead to a significant increase in traffic around the intersection of Westbrook Road, Route 153, and Bokum Road. Bruce Hillison, a traffic consultant retained by the developer, had estimated the Rite Aid would generate about 70 to 75 additional vehicle trips in and out on a weekday afternoon, and about 60 additional trips on a Saturday.
Wolfgram also announced that Monday’s session would be the final meeting for commission member Kenneth Wexler, a longtime member and former chairman who served as interim first selectman for five months in 2003 after the resignation of former First Selectman Peter Webster. Wexler had attended all of the hearings, but his term expired Monday.
Wexler’s departure means a commission alternate, either Jim Hill or Lillian Mosa, will join Wolfgram and members Jeffrey Woods, Hope Proctor, and Sunsan Uihlein in voting on the Rite Aid application. Hill and Mosa have attended all of the public hearings.
Marian Staye, zoning enforcement officer, said the panel could begin discussiion of the Rite Aid application at its Dec. 21 meeting in preparation for a final vote on the application at a meeting in January.
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.
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 debate over a proposed large Rite Aid pharmacy at Bokum Corners will resume in November as the zoning commission continued the public hearing amid differing views from residents on the project.
The commission, which held the second phase of the public hearing Monday night, continued the hearing to its Nov. 16 meeting because traffiic engineers for both the commission and the developer, Acquisition Holdings LLC, were unable to attend Monday’s session. As was the case when the public hearing opened on Sept. 21, about 80 residents turned out to express their views on the proposed development.
Acquisition Holdings, represented by former state Rep. Robert Landino of Chester, is seeking permits for a 14,673 square-foot Rite Aid pharmacy at the 124 Westbrook Road site now occupied by Oliver’s Tavern. The project needs a special permit and earth removal permit from the commission, along with approval of a proposed secondary entrance through the abutting 114 Westbrook Road site that contains the Essex Veterinary Clinic.
The existing Oliver’s Tavern building, a 14,690 square-foot two-story barn-style structure constructed in the late 1970s, would be demolished. The proposed pharmacy, replacing an existing Rite Aid in leased space at the nearby Bokum Corners Shopping Center, would have two drive-through windows for prescriptions.
While most residents opposed the project as a “big box store” that would generate traffic congestion on Westbrook Road, also known as state Route 153, there were several statements of support during Monday’s hearing. Thomas Rose, who has run Olver’s Tavern since it opened in the early 1980s, contended in a letter to the panel the pharmacy would generate less traffic than his business, and would allow new measures to remediate long-standing groundwater table problems on the commercial property.
Rose, who was present for the hearing, contended a commission denial would “send a chilling message to every small business owner in Essex.” that plans to relocate or expand could be blocked “based on the protests of a small but vocal minority.” Rose has said previously that he hopes to move the tavern to a new location in Essex because the existing building is outdated.
Robert Olsen, who runs the veterinary clinic, said the development would benefit other commercial properties in the area. The town’s planning commission did not object to the development, suggesting in an advisory letter read at the hearing that it would “reinforce economic growth” in the Bokum Corners area.
But Sam Riggio, who runs a nearby garden center, said approval of the development would open the door to more large businesses on Route 153. “You should control the size of businesses on Route 153 so it remains a two-lane counrty road,” he said.
State Rep. James Spallone, who lives in the Centerbrook section about two miles away, said increased traffic generated by the development could lead the state Department of Transportation to pursue a broader widening of Route 153. Mary Boone suggested that approval of the large chain pharmacy would set a precedent for Essex that “preceeds a Home Depot and a Walmart.”
After it closes the public hearing, the zoning commission will have up to 65 days to act on the permit applications.
ESSEX— It was the developers’ turn Monday night as the zoning commission opened a public hearing on the proposal for a 14,673-square-foot Rite Aid pharmacy on the Oliver’s Tavern property at 124 Westbrook Road.
About 80 residents turned out for the public hearing as representatives of Acquisition Holdings LLC presented plans that include demolition of the Oliver’s Tavern restaurant building to make way for a new pharamcy with a drive through window for prescriptions. Rite Aid would relocate from the space it currently leases at the nearby Bokum Corners Shopping Center if the plan wins zoning approval.
Most of Monday’s session was taken up by presentations from professional representatives of the developer and questions from commission members and residents. The panel has continued the hearing to its Oct. 19 meeting.
The project needs a special permit and an earth removal permit, along with commission approval of a secondary entrance and changes to the parking layout for the abutting Essex Veterinary Clinic property at 114 Westbrook Road.
Thomas Cloutier, an Old Saybrook lawyer, represented the developers. One of the partners in Acquisition Holdings is Robert Landino, a former Democratic state representative who now lives in Chester. Landino has helped develop other pharmacy projects over the past two years in Middletown, Old Lyme and Westbrook
Cloutier said the proposed store is “not a big box,” and is “not materially different from other commercial structures in the vicinity.” Cloutier said the owners of Oliver’s Tavern, which he described as “an Essex tradition,” support the project and are “actively looking to relocate somewhere else in Essex.”
The 14,690-square-foot restaurant building, which includes some commercial/office space and a second floor, was constructed in 1980.
Raymond Gradwell, project engineer, said the pharmacy building would have a new septic system that would greatly reduce wastewater flows on the parcel from as much as 8,000 gallons per day that could be generated by the restaurant to about 510 gallons per day that would be generated from the pharmacy. The pharmacy would have a total of 81 parking spaces, with 58 spaces to be paved during construction and the remaining 23 spaces held in reserve.
Stanley Gniazdowski, a Guilford real estate consultant, said the new pharmacy would provide a $1.73 million boost to the grand list of taxable properties, and generate about $25,000 in new tax revenue, compared to about $16,500 generated by the existing building.
The traffic impact of the new and larger pharmacy on the busy intersection of Plains Road, Bokum Road and Westbrook Road, also known as Route 153, has emerged as a major issue in the review process. Bruce Hillson, a traffic engineer retained by the developer, maintained the project, including the new secondary access through the veterinary clinic property, “would have no adverse effect on the pattern, flow, intensity or character of traffic in the area.”
The developers plan to widen a 200-foot section of Route 153 to provide a bypass lane near the main entrance to the pharmacy, along with constructing a sidewalk in front of the pharmacy and a pedestrian crosswalk across Route 153 to the Bokum Corners Shopping Center.
Susan VanBenschoten, a traffic engineer retained by the commission, said she agreed with most of Hillson’s assessment of the traffic situation and related road improvements. But VanBenschoten, who is an Essex resident, said she has some concerns about “confusion and safety issues,” that could arise for motorists from the multiple commercial and residential driveways in the area of the development.
By Charles Stannard
ESSEX– The zoning commission will open a public hearing Monday on a permit application for a Rite Aid pharmacy at the site of the existing Oliver’s Tavern building at 124 Westbrook Road.
The meeting convenes at 7 p.m at town hall., but the Rite Aid hearing is expected to be preceded by a separate public hearing on a permit application from Essex Financial Services Inc. to construct a second floor on an existing commercial building at 176 Westbrook Road.
The plan submitted by Aquisition Holdings of Hartford calls for a 14,673 square-foot pharmacy with two drive-through windows for prescriptions. The application also calls for a secondary entrance from the abutting 114 Westbrook Road parcel of the Essex Veterinary Clinic and changes to the parking plan for the veterinary clinic property.
The plans call for removal of 7,400 cubic yards of material from the 2.32-acre 124 Westbrook Road property, with the addition of 5,400 cubic yards of new fill.
If the permit is approved, the existing Oliver’s Tavern building that was constructed in 1980 would be demolished. Rite Aid would relocate from its existing space at the Bokum Corners Shopping Center on the opposite side of Westbrook Road.
