Politics & Government

Zoning Commission Approves CVS Site Plan

Hurdles remain before construction can begin.

The Zoning Commission unanimously approved site plans for a CVS at the corner of Route 44 and Lawton Road early Thursday morning during a public hearing and meeting that started at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and went past midnight.

Konover Development Corp. of Farmington plans to bring in a CVS to anchor development at the corner of Route 44 and Lawton Road.

“We are most anxious to begin construction,” Robin Messier Pearson of Shipman, Sosensky and Marks LLC of Farmington said during the hearing.

Find out what's happening in Cantonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The approval helps pave the way for a 16,000 square-foot CVS on the front of the property.

Konover, however, has several more steps to complete, including Water Pollution Control Authority design review approvals, final state Traffic Commission approval and working with the town to meet special conditions placed on the plan by the zoning commission, before the project can begin.

Find out what's happening in Cantonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The approval came with more than 30 conditions and stipulations that the developer work with staff and others on several issues. For example, questions remained on the allowable size of the sign on the front of the building so the developer will need to work with town staff to clarify the issue.

At the public hearing portion of the meeting, which included other applications, Konover and its consultants reviewed some of the changes in the plans for the site, many made after the Design Review Team gave numerous recommendations in a meeting Aug. 8.

Those changes included removal of a guardrail on the site, more pedestrian-scale lighting, better screening along Lawton Road and changes in the parking lot layout and traffic flow.

Gary Hath, chairman of the DRT, said the verbal conditions seemed to have been met but there had not been adequate time for to review the lighting, vegetation, and grading plans.

“I would also encourage you to get more information on the lighting plan,” Hath said. “Other than that I applaud the fact that they met the conditions.”

It would be tragic to go over to another month just to make sure those details are on those plans,” Pearson said.

Konover met with DRT three times and drastically altered the look of its building after the first meeting. Pearson said the developer would also be happy to work with the DRT post approval to make sure they were satisfied.

Hath said he was not real comfortable with that but he understood the company’s urgency

Pearson said the developer was not able to show DRT representatives the information as soon as it would like but consultants were left scrambling to make the changes in time for the meeting.

Also speaking at the hearing was Kevin Paton of BKA Architects who explained that the building followed the Greek Revival style with a sloped roof, a wide trim area under the eaves, double hung windows and a chimney like roof feature.

Some windows over the Albany Turnpike suggest a second floor, even though there isn’t actually one, he added.

CVS would normally wash their building in light under a rear soffit but that was eliminated from the plan, Paton said. 

The colors chosen, also the topic of some discussion, were "Dunmore Cream" and white.

The site plan calls for the use of several stone walls as well.

“We’re going to have some nice fieldstone stone walls,” said Paul Vitaliano, project manager at Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.

Vahid Karimi, director of Traffic Engineering and Transportation Systems for Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, said the developers also discussed the Farmington River Trail with the town and state and the plan calls for pedestrian crossing improvements on lovely Street and well as crossing on Lawton Road and Route 44 in the area of the Shoppes at Farmington Valley.

Vitaliano said the developers are also working with the state traffic commission on the traffic signal.

The site plan also includes sidewalks into the development from Route 44 and Lawton road as well as between proposed development areas on the site.

“It’s very convenient for pedestrians,” Vitaliano said.

The developers also asked for other special exceptions for the site, such as allowing alcohol at a restaurant.

Pearson said there are currently no restaurant tenants for the site but the developer felt it would make sense to apply for alcohol sales at a restaurant, should that ever come into play.

“We just though it would make sense to get that into place,” Pearson said. “We believe such a restaurant use would be compatible with this site.”

A few residents spoke at the hearing as well.

Jean Bouchard, who lives on the corner of Lawton and Washburn roads said she was still disappointed that the commission had granted a public access off of Lawton Road, which it did with a zoning amendment earlier this year.

"I’m really disappointed and I know my neighbors are disappointed," Bouchard said.

Residents were also concerned about a potential of a fast food restaurant with a drive through but zoning commission chairman Jay Weintraub said it is not an allowed use on the site.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here