Town Board to propose zoning change permitting grocery and limited retail at Chappaqua Crossing
Monday, July 23, 2012
by Christine Yeres
In its meeting this Tuesday, Town Board members will set the date for a public hearing to amend the town code to allow retail uses in the “business, research and office,” or BRO business district at Chappaqua Crossing, primarily to attract a full-service grocery store and the tax revenues it would bring. The board first floated the idea in March.
See “Town board invites residents to consider partial rezoning of Chappaqua Crossing,” NCNOW.org, 3/9/12.
The addition to the town code would be titled “Office Park Retail Overlay District,” and would read,
“This Office Park Overlay District zoning is intended to provide the opportunity for the development of a retail zoning district on a planned basis in the Town’s only Research and Office Business District (“Office Park District”) to be anchored by a full service grocery store and provide for other retail uses that will provide a complementary and mutually sustaining tenant mix, that are appropriate for the comfort and convenience of occupants in the underlying Office Park District and occupants and residents of the community, that will facilitate provision of daily needs products and services such as groceries and basic retail in an otherwise underserved market area, and that will support and enhance the Town’s commercial real estate tax base. To further this intent with proper protection for existing development in the community, Office Park Retail Overlay Districts shall be established within Office Park Districts on a floating zone basis, subject to approval by the Town Board in each case, and in accordance with an approved preliminary development concept plan, as described and defined herein.”
What other uses the board contemplates remained, as of last week, undisclosed. Several people in the commercial real estate business have noted that generally supermarkets wish to have at least a bank and a liquor store in close proximity.
The Town Board will consult the Planning Board and Architectural Review Board, then, as with all zoning amendments, a public hearing will follow. This Tuesday, the board intends to set a September 24, 2012 hearing date.
I like the idea. But what about a Trader Joe’s in the old D’Agostino’s spot? Get something in there!
Editor’s Note: Although no visible activity there, Walgreens is coming, as far as we know.
Unecessary.
WE NEED A GRECERY STORE NOT A WALGREENS
HOW MANY DRUGS DO WE SWALLO?????????
This town is making way to many mistakes! It almost seems that we have really no one in town hall that really understands anything. This type of planning will drastically hurt the merchants of downtown Chappaqua. We actually need the mass of people and their spending money to come into downtown Chappaqua. This kind of thinking will prevent residents from really ever having to come downtown and be exposed and motivated to the ambitions and marketing of our town merchants. This is so really bad, I am at a loss. We have very bad decisions being made and approved in town hall. This needs to be stopped in its tracks and right now!
This is so very wrong to do to our Municipality. This has got to be a product of behind the door discussions as a result coming from the lawsuits filed between the town and the developer. I am out of town on business, but please, have someone ask the planning board if they are floating this idea as a concept to avoid a court room showdown. Town Hall should proactively go out and attract the right kind of use for this property. I think as a community we would have no problem in Town Hall spending $100k or more in advertising to find the right kind of “use” for the Reader’s Digest property. A grocery store on this location is a bad idea for many reasons. Who comes up with this stuff?
Since we have a new planner, where in the municipality does commercial land exist that can accomodate a small grocery store? Can the Dagostino location be added onto, can we build it on the Conifer site, can we incorporate it into Napoli’s idea, can we place it on Hunts lane. What existing commercial properties exist in the area other then the Reader’s Digest property? Can we pass a law whereby no disturbance can take place within 200 feet from the existing property line of Readers Digest, or from bordering properties? The Reader’s Digest property is a National treasure, not a place for Fresh Market! I would like to see where town hall and our planner would allow a brand new and clean grocery store to be built?
By placing a grocery store at Chappaqua Crossing, you will be stopping a very large population of consumers from driving into downtown Chappaqua and spending money on different needs, desires, wants, and impulse purchases. The longer a grocery store is not in the area, the longer it will take for a new Chappaqua grocery store to be successful. We need a small grocery store that is well run, properly stocked, kept highly clean, looks good and clean from the outside, and has all fresh food.
This is a terrible idea. All it will accomplish is to contribute to sprawl, and drive business from the center of Chappaqua, which already suffers from competition from Mt Kisco and Pleasantville. It will also result in even more traffic on Rt 117, Roaring Brook Rd and Readers Digest Rd. It will also make it very unlikely that a general grocer will EVER locate in the current Chappaqua Business District. Finally, it is an invitation to allow additional business zones along Rt 117 until Rt 117 in Chappaqua looks like a continuation of Rt 117 in Mt Kisco.
