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Southern Ulster Times, Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Five projects on Lloyd’s table
Continued from page 1
P. WE Holdings LLC
The company is proposing to construct
a 6,300 sq/ft one story catering hall
facility with a maximum capacity of 112
people. There may be an outdoor tent that
would bring the total up to 150 people. The
project is being proposed for a 9.34 acre
parcel that is located on Route 9W, south
of North Road and north of Grand Street.
Patti Brooks said they are proposing
access off of Route 9W, with a “pork chop”
one way in, one way out. She added that
a grading plan is being worked on that
will bring, what she called a ‘serpentine’
roadway, up to the facility. There will also
be another way out to Grand Street and
then to the light at Route 9W that will be
the main out for traffic traveling north.
The board indicted they would like to
profile the “vertical changes” at this point
and installing a blind driveway sign may
be considered for safety reasons.
Brooks said the code requires 1 parking
space per 3 seats, which in this case is 67
slots but they will provide 77 parking
spaces. Building Department Director
Dave Barton urged Brooks to keep as
much grass on the site as possible in
order to minimize the amount of asphalt
and gravel.
Highland Estates
Brooks is also representing a hotel/
office complex that is being proposed
around and behind the Rite Aid pharmacy
at the intersection of Route 9W and
Mack’s Lane. The proposal is for a 66
ft by 140 ft hotel with 54 beds; an 80 ft
by 200 foot two-story retail/residential
building; a 60 foot by 80 foot two story
professional building and a 30 foot by 100
foot gas station facility. She noted that the
property has water and sewer that was
provided for during the original approval
of Rite Aid.
Planning Board member Carl
DiLorenzo voiced issues with traffic
because of the numerous development
projects that are being proposed in this
area of town.
“My concern is with everything that is
going on there, nobody’s going anywhere
to get in and out,” he said, but admitted,
“These are all allowed in the zone.”
Barton said a coordinated effort is
needed.
“It may behoove us to get everyone
on the same page in terms of traffic and
maybe get them all in a room, sit them
down and say you guys figure this out
together,” he said.
This project is in the very beginning
Cathy Hobbs’ multi-use warehouse/office space proposed for Upper North Road.
stages and is expected to undergo some
changes along the planning process.
Auto Zone Store
Project Manager Jeffrey Berneburg
is representing Auto Zone that is seeking
to build a 6,816 sq/ft, one story auto parts
retail store off of Wingate Way, near
Route 9W. He said they share the General
Business zoned property with the existing
Dunkin’ Donuts shop and would enter in
from Route 9W and exit via the in/out of
Wingate Way.
Berneburg said their engineer is
currently working on a stormwater plan
for the site.
“They’re using the stormwater swall
that is already there as well as adding one
on to the rear [of the site] for the roofs,”
he said.
Berneburg said 28 parking spaces
are required by the code but they are
proposing 31 slots. Barton suggested this
number may be a little high because Auto
Zones are typically not highly trafficked
stores.
“Maybe we’ll trade you those three
spaces for some additional landscaping
A rendering of Cathy Hobbs project.
for site beautification, particularly on the
Route 9W side,” he said.
Member Carl DiLorenzo agreed,
saying. “I think it’s a low intensity use
compared to Dunkin Donuts.”
Chairman Fred Pizzuto also favors
additional landscaping but stressed that,
“We don’t want to make Auto Zone go
away,” because of the board’s requests.
The board also asked Berneburg to
provide details for all of the signage that
Auto Zone will use on the site.
Berneburg will return after the
Planning Board’s engineer finishes his
review of the proposed project.
RTH Realty Holdings
Cathy Hobbs, represented by engineer
Khattar Elmassalemah, brought to the
board her idea for a 12,000 sq/ft multi-
use, passive warehouse and office space
building on a 3.4 acre site on Upper North
Road. Elmassalemah said he is seeking
to keep the buildings footprint small
while including as many green concepts
as possible. The site is already served
by public water and a septic system is
presently in the design phase for the
property.
Hobbs owns an interior design and
staging company.
“Essentially what we do is we stage and
style vacant properties for sale, mostly in
Manhattan,” she said. “We have our own
inventory of merchandise, sofas, beds,
couches, art work, and typically can stage
30 or 40 properties simultaneously. We
provide and rent our inventory to make it
look lived in and once the property is sold
we take it back and then we rent it again.”
Hobbs said she has a background as a
television newscaster and will be doing
some social media activities in the new
building as well.
Chairman Pizzuto said he would like
to see a conceptual rendering that shows
some landscaping on the side of the
building that faces Upper North Road, “so
it doesn’t look like the back of a building,
like a big flat wall. We just don’t want
to have a surprise at the end, so if we’re
ahead of it, we’re all on the same page.
The concept is fabulous and I love the
building; you couldn’t do a better spot on
that site, it’s just what the east side of the
building will look like going by. We would
need some kind of optics to see what that
looks like.”
Hobbs agreed, saying, “all of those
visual aspects are crucial and important
to me.”
The board also wants Hobbs to
show how deliveries will be made to the
building.
Town engineer Andrew Learn
pointed out that the project will disturb.
.98 acres, “and if you’re over .95 you’re
required to get a SPEDS permit,” he said.
Elmassalemah indicated he will work to
keep the project under the state threshold
requirements.
The
NYS
Department
of
Environmental Conservation website
states that, “New York is rich in surface
and groundwater resources. Article 17
of the Environmental Conservation Law
(ECL) entitled “Water Pollution Control”
was enacted to protect and maintain these
valuable resources. Article 17 authorized
creation of the State Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (SPDES) program
to maintain New York’s waters with
reasonable standards of purity.”
Hobbs is hoping to begin construction
as soon as possible.
“The building is in 100 pieces in
Bangor, Maine,” she said.
After completion Hobbs expects to
have nationwide press coverage of this
building because of its unique green
additions and setting.