At Tuesday's Town Board meeting, the board voted 4-0 to accept Chappaqua Crossing's Final Environmental Review Impact Statement (FEIS) for its retail component.
With the closing of the D'Agostino supermarket in fall 2011, Chappaqua Crossing has proposed a 120,000 square foot retail district that would include a supermarket between 36,000 and 66,000 square feet, on the southern part of the property.
Summit/Greenfield, the developer of the property, must still do an on-site vegetation inventory to look for invasive species. The developer has until Sept. 10 to submit a plan for the inventory.
As part of the retail plan, Summit/Greenfield is looking for a new Office Park Retail Overlay District which would override legislation passed in 1989 discouraging new businesses outside downtown Chappaqua and Millwood.
Once the plan is submitted and reviewed by the town, the town will file a notice of completion with the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
The Chappaqua Crossing proposal has been in the planning stage for years. Summit/Greenfield initially proposed 199 condominiums and townhouses, and the town eventually approved 111.
Summit/Greenfield later filed a lawsuit over the town's handling of its application, though the lawsuits were dropped pending approvals from the town and planning board.
In May, Chappaqua Crossing said they were close to finding a supermarket tenant, but did not release any details.
Residents at public hearings have expressed their opposition for a supermarket and retail district concerned it will have a negative impact on downtown businesses.
Robert Greenstein, president of the Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce has called the proposal a joke.
Summit/Greenfield "has never asked what the residents want," Greenstein said.
Chappaqua residents have also expressed concern over how this would change the character of the town.
“Before you approve a change in zoning that will bring more traffic to this area of Chappaqua, consider the enormous changes you are bringing to the character of this part of town and the lives of all the residents and everyone who has or will have a child at the high school,” said Roaring Brook Road resident Maryhelen Hendricks.
As part of accepting Chappaqua Crossing's FEIS, the Town Board closed the public hearing.
In August, 23 residents filed a petition requiring a supermajority of the Town Board vote to approve the retail plan. The 4-0 vote met that requirement
Deputy Supervisor Elise Kessler Mottel, the fifth member of the Town Board, has recused herself from Chappaqua Crossing votes because the law firm she works for has a connection to Summit/Greenfield.
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