York Town News
Rite Aid coming to Route 1
By Jennifer L. Saunders
YORK - The Planning Board has given the nod, with conditions, for construction to begin on a new Rite Aid pharmacy near the intersection of Route 1 and Route 91.
With just three of its five regular members - the requisite number for a quorum - present at the June 14 meeting, Chairman Glen MacWilliams and members Tom Manzi and Lee Corbin granted amendments to the previously approved York Village Business Center project to relocate the hotel and replace two small mixed-use buildings with a larger retail structure to house the Rite Aid.
However, the approval did not come without discussion, and the plans will not be signed until the board revisits the issue of signage for the businesses on the site.
The board has asked Town Planner Steve Burns to seek a legal opinion on the York Code Enforcement Office's interpretation of the ordinance that determines the maximum amount of square footage allowed for signs.
Aside from that issue, and direction from the board to correct lighting and remedy tree cutting that has affected an abutter, Thursday's approval paves the way for the Rite Aid plan to beginning moving forward.
Scott Franklin, an abutter to the York Village Marketplace project, addressed the board at the public hearing to describe the issues with his property. He asked the Planning Board for help with what he described as violations of prior conditions for the portions of the project that have already been built.
"There's been several promises made to us with regard to this development, and they've been broken one by one," he said, describing instances when he found trees on his property being cut by individuals working for the project developers. "... When I confronted them about it, they said they knew nothing about it."
He also asked the board about a new floodlight in the back of the new restaurant at the site.
"It's so bright I can sit in my back yard and actually read by it," he said. "... I want to be a good neighbor ... we've tried to be very understanding ... but I'm very concerned."
Franklin said there appears to be some sort of communication gap between the people work on the site and those attending the meetings on behalf of the development team.
"Once the meeting is over, that is as far as the promises go," he said, adding, "We didn't ask for a whole lot."
MacWilliams told the project team that there should be no light at all from the business properties spilling over onto the abutter's land and Corbin encouraged the developer to work with Franklin to either plant extra screening to replace what was cut or to financially compensate the family for the damage to the trees.
The board said if the issues are not resolved with the abutter, the next action would have serious repercussions.
"There is recourse, but it's kind of a drastic one. ... You're in default," MacWilliams said. "... I would rather say work it out with the abutter so there's just compensation, if that's the case, or some resolution."
Ultimately, the plan was approve subject to resolving the signage issues and with stipulations that the project have no effect on the Franklin property.
The board also took its second look at an application from the Zacharias Farm for a one-time barbecue festival at its Colby Turner Lane location on Aug. 4 and 5. Dennis Sherman and John Zacharias attended the meeting, and Sherman told the board the plan is for a two-day, family-friendly event including a grilling competition, vendors with food for sale and eight bands offering live entertainment. Plans are also in the works to donate funds raised during the event to worthy causes. The three board members present gave a vote of confidence in support of the plan.
In other business, the board approved an application to expand the York Public Works barn, approved a change of use request from DPW Realty LLC to return the former Cormier Textile building to its prior use and agreed to change the Lombardi/Cape Neddick House redevelopment project's Route 1 Use Permit to allow the existing bed and breakfast to continue during the first phase of development.
Discussion of Highland Farm Phase 2 was once again been postponed at the request of the property owner. The applicant has been in discussion with land conservation groups regarding the possibility of preserving portions of the parcel.
Jim Katsiaficas of Perkins and Thompson, who is representing the applicant, said there were no new developments to report as of Thursday's meeting.
"We're trying to just move forward on this," he said.
The next Planning Board meeting is scheduled for June 28.
