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Editorials
By a four to one vote, the Lancaster Town Board approved the Benderson Development Aldi’s site plan for a proposed 15,121 sq. ft. grocery store located at 4937 Transit Road. This parcel is located 300 feet south of William Street adjacent to the existing Rite-Aid Pharmacy.
The site plan was approved with three conditions set in the language:
1) Signage to be approved which restricts truck traffic to exit onto Transit Road only.
2) Easement with Rite-Aid to be approved allowing the use of their existing driveway.
3) Town Attorney to approve language of draft easement of all parties.
Reasons for Aldi's work session discussion
Supervisor Robert Giza told the board members at the pre-meeting work session that he had received a late afternoon correspondence from Joseph Cipolla, president of Bella Vista, stating concerns about the Aldi’s site plan up for approval that evening.
Bella Vista, aka 81 & 3 of Florida, is planning to develop a retail shopping center to the east of the proposed Aldi’s. At one time they had intended to build an Aldi’s on their site, in the northeast quadrant of the Flix Theater complex.
On November 1, 2006, the Lancaster Planning Board (PB) recommended approval of an 81 & 3 of Florida Aldi’s site plan to the Town Board with two conditions: Building Permits for the project cannot be issued until the revised driveway to service the Flix Theaters was in place. Second, that a Certification of Occupancy for the project cannot be issued until the revised access at William Street is in place with signalization.
When recommending Aldi's site plan approval to the Town Board, the PB had suggested that Benderson Development come to an agreement with Bella Vista to use the Flix realigned driveway as an access to William Street, when that parcel of land was developed.
Contentious work session
Eric Racoon, Benderson Development representative, declared that such agreement could not be had because it was discovered that Bella Vista did not own the property. Racoon declared that that fact was brought before the PB and they addressed the issue.
Racoon added that if development should take place to the east of the Rite Aid property, which they have an easement to use, and if a signal came in along with the realigned Flix driveway, Aldi’s would agree to do whatever was asked to achieve interconnectivity.
Racoon and Benderson attorney Peter Sorgi made known that they had a traffic study performed using the Rite-Aid driveway and the county approved its findings. They added that the Transit Road driveway was aligned with the Target store across the road and that they had altered the access driveway on William Street. “You asked if we would allow our neighbors to get across our property and we agreed to it.”
Pat Cipolla, spokesperson for Bella Vista, declared, “If they (Aldi's) are allowed to develop this, and are allowed to use the Rite-Aid driveway, the cars coming in off William are too close to Transit Road and will surely collide with the cars stacked to come out (onto William), and will be in the way to come into this property.
Sorgi: “We have a traffic study that says different.”
Councilman Dan Amatura asked Councilman Donna Stempniak, liaison to the PB, what her thoughts were.
Stempniak declared that the PB realized Cipolla does not own the property directly to the east of the Rite-Aid and that it would be impossible for Aldi’s to get an easement at this time. In the future when both properties would be developed, there would be an agreement between parties.
Aldi’s attorney Peter Sorgi asked Pat Cipolla, “What are your concerns. This project has been on the table for six months?”
Pat Cippola: “Did you write a letter to the town saying that you spoke to me?”
Sorgi: “Yes and a deal was not struck because Bella Vista doesn’t own the property next (east) to the Rite-Aid.”
Cippola: “That’s not true. The property owner next door has $200,000 of my money.”
Sorgi: “Why don’t you explain your concerns because this looks like an 11th hour way to hold this project up? I didn’t know that you asked Eric (Racoon – Benderson) to buy that property. So, it seems like you’re trying to get leverage to buy the property.”
Cippola: “No, that’s not true. He (Racoon) made an offer to buy the property and I said that it was not satisfactory. He came back three weeks later and said that Benderson had too much property on Transit Road and that he was not able to perform – to buy the property.”
Sorgi: You feel you have enough leverage to put this project in jeopardy. This is an 11th hour trick to sabotage this project. You couldn’t give us an easement (agreement) today (to the proposed realigned Flix driveway) because you don’t own that property.
(Comment: An easement agreement that would allow the Aldi’s to access William Street onto the future realigned Flix Theater driveway that will be across from the future Wal-Mart, and will be signalized – as the town had requested.)
Sorgi: “Are you asking us to delay our project for six months, six years, whatever it takes until you complete yours?”
Cipolla: “I’m asking for time for our representative to meet with the person I have contracted with to talk to these people… a postponement.”
Sorgi: “What do you want?”
Cipolla: “I want an agreement that satisfies me; that doesn’t hurt any of our future customers.”
Sorgi: “Why have you waited until the 11th hour to bring this forward?”
Cipolla: “Contrary to what you’re saying I didn’t know until today, 3:30 p.m., and I didn’t see the letter until 20 minutes ago.”
Sorgi: “So now you want to jeopardize our project.”
Cipolla: “I don’t want to jeopardize my project with your project.”
Sorgi: ‘You don’t have a project. You don’t own the property! You don’t have an application in. What project. Show it to me! You’re trying to kill our project.”
Racoon: “We have all our ducks in a row. And, should Cipolla develop his property in the future, this board is well in its right to require property owners to coordinate to address traffic access management.
Cipolla: “When you talk about mutual cooperation between developers or landowners, I have not heard the monetary pavement for it. I don’t want to come out your (Aldi’s) driveway.
Sorgi: “We’ll negotiate that latter.”
Cipolla: ‘Oh, after you got everything in your hands and you don’t need us.”
Sorgi: “We still have a condition hanging around that we would have to come back to the board and agree to share access. But, you don’t own the property next to us.”
Cipolla: “We own the property to the north, but not in the front (along William Street). We have a contract on the front part.”
Town Board weighs in
Councilman Donna Stempniak: “I don’t see any reason to hold this project up. We don’t know what’s going to be developed in the east. We haven’t even rezoned that parcel; or if…
Cipolla: “I don’t want to sacrifice my land in any way, shape or manner unless we get reimbursed monetarily for it. If he never has to connect with us, that’s fine. But if you say I’m going to have to let him use my driveway when I come in…”
Councilman Ron Ruffino: “This project has nothing to do with that.”
Cipolla: “Fine, but I don’t want the Town Board to ever say we agreed to an easement.
Several board members exclaimed, “No, no…
Cipolla: “I’m not trying to stop the project. I’m just saying the easement should be moved to here… and that a monetary amount be given to us.”
Stempniak: “It’s not part of the resolution (easement agreement with Aldi’s) because you don’t own the land.”
Cipolla: “As long as we’re not committed to give them an easement.”
Comments
At the public comment session, held before resolution voting, the writer made the following comments.
I live within 1,000 feet of the Rite-Aid driveway. I attend most of the Planning Board meetings. I have heard the concerns voiced by the PB on the traffic conflicts and vehicular safety issues associated with using this driveway and their request that the Aldi’s interconnect with the planned realigned Flix driveway that would be signalized.
I was surprised and dismayed by the comments made in the work session and that the town and the county would allow this project to go forward using the Rite Aid driveway that is within 275 feet of the Transit Road intersection and 60 feet across from the Sunoco gas station driveway.
Listening to Mr. Cipolla, this may no longer be a “temporary access” until his project takes place. The town insisted that the Cipolla project have its driveway aligned with the Wal-Mart driveway and that signalization take place before he would be granted an “Occupancy” permit. That condition was placed on the Cipolla site plan when he had the contract to build the Aldi’s on William Street.
Now the town and county allow use of an unsignalized driveway, with no turning lane, half the distance to the Transit Road intersection, and with another driveway across the street diagonally to the west. There are accidents happening here now with just the Rite-Aid operation.
Last week I attended the joint Lancaster / Cheektowaga public hearing on access management. They spoke on adopting a law that would address such traffic conflicts and zones of potential vehicular accidents.
Supervisor Giza declared at that meeting: “We have made a lot of past mistakes. We cannot fix them all, but this program is a start.” Allowing this project to take place using William Street as an access flies in the face of everything proposed last week. Aldi’s has an access on Transit Road. They created their own hardship and should be denied access on William Street.
At SEQRA, it was answered that there would be no public controversy associated with this project. There will be now considering this access is being allowed with no certain language that ensures interconnectivity of driveways will occur in the near future, or anytime; especially if the proposed Access Management ordinance lacks enforcement authority. But then again, this posturing was all about money anyway; certainly not resident best interest.
By approving this site plan tonight, the town and county are telling Lancaster residents and those traveling William Street near the Transit Road intersection that our safety and quality of life is less important than bringing an Aldi’s to Transit Road for the revenues to be realized.
Now that the Wal-Mart is proposing changing their store plan into a supercenter, why do we even need an Aldi’s?
Lastly, the Rite-Aid driveway is not wide enough to accommodate for the added traffic. Rite-Aid has no reason to spend money to improve it. Benderson says its not his property and will not redesign it. But PB Chair Stanley Keysa said the county would expand the approach and even widen the driveway to allow Rite-Aid traffic safe access.
Imagine, spending taxpayer money for a private enterprise project improvement, not like that’s never happened before.
Councilman Dan Amatura was the lone dissenting vote, citing traffic issues as the reason for his no vote. Someone is listening to reason.
© Copyright 2008 by Speakupwny.com
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