Citizens for an Informed Yorktown

Home

Yorktown Links

Search CIY

PB development summaries

Costco Wholesale
SBL: 26.18-1-19
Location: 3200 Crompond Road
Contact: TRC Engineers, Inc.
Description: Application to construct a 151,092 SF Costco Wholesale Club retail store and club member available filling station.

Town Board, 2/21/2012

The board voted unanimously to hire Jacobs Engineering Group to analyze the traffic impact of Costco, at a cost not to exceed $9,000 to be paid for by Costco.

Planning Board, 2/13/2012

Mr. Flynn would like to add to the EIS scoping a consideration of the health impacts of suburban sprawl.He alludes to studies suggesting suburban dwellers are less healthy than urban dwellers because of the car-dependent culture of suburbia and points to the Costco project as an example of a land use that encourages people to drive to a shopping venue rather than walk.The comment period for the scoping document is closed, but Mr. Tegeder will ask the applicant to include Mr. Flynn’s suggestion in the DEIS.

Town Board, 2/4/2012

During Courtesy of the Floor, the following comments were made:

Paul Moskowitz talked about traffic problems on Route 202 and wanted the board to approve hiring a traffic consultant to review the Costco traffic plan. In response, Supervisor Grace said that the town had scheduled a meeting with Route 202 stakeholders and state officials for February 23^rd at 9am in town hall to discuss private investment along the corridor. Referring to the long range plan for the extension of the Bear Mountain Parkway he said that the town was going to start the discussion in earnest and not wait for Cortldant. He said that the town had authorized the Costco traffic study.

Jonathan Nettlefield, chairman of Yorktown Smart Growth, presented the board with a copy of a report, “The True Costs of Costco.” He said the group didn’t dislike Costco but that the whole story hadn’t been told. In response, Supervisor Grace said that his point of view had been heard and hadn’t been ignored.

Planning Board, 1/23/2012

The purpose of the meeting was to consider the completeness of the DEIS (Draft Environmental Impact Statement).

As Planning Board members were still reviewing a lengthy memo on the DEIS prepared by town staff , and the applicant had received a copy of the memo that morning, there was little discussion as to the content of the memo. While the applicant was aware of some of the comments as members of the Costco team had attending meetings with town staff, the applicant did ask for a follow up meeting to clarify some of the points in the memo. Planning Director John Tegeder explained that the “next step” in the DEIS process was up to the applicant who will have to review and comment on the town’s memo.

Mr. Tegeder also advised the board and the applicant that at Tuesday’s Town Board meeting he would asking the board to authorize an amendment to the town’s contract with its outside traffic consultant, Jacobs, Edwards and Kelsey, to review the traffic chapter of the DEIS. He apologized to the applicant for the delay in beginning this review and indicated that he should have a timetable for the completion of the consultant’s review by the end of the week.

Town Board, 1/24/2012: Modifications to contract with the town’s traffic consultant

Planning Director John Tegeder explained to the board that since 2004, as part of the Sustainable Development Study, the town has used the services of an outside traffic consultant to review the traffic data submitted on behalf of any new applicants proposing developments in the Route 202 or Route 6 corridors. Virtually the entire cost of the consultant is paid for by the applicant. The consultant submits a proposal to the town that sets out the scope of services and the cost and that information is then presented to the developer who has to approve the proposal before the Town Board actually contracts with the consultant. The procedure, Mr. Tegeder noted, predates the escrow issue and is not open ended as the applicant is told in advance what the cost of the consultant will be.

Mr. Tegeder explained that the services of the consultant, the firm of Jacobs, Edwards and Kelsey, were needed to review the traffic chapter of the Costco DEIS and also for the Faith Bible Church application that impacts Route 6.

When Supervisor Grace questioned the need for this additional expense for the developer and why the town had any reason to doubt what the developer was saying, Councilman Bianco said that a second study by the town’s consultant was a “double check” and that it was important for the town to make the public feel that the town had done its job. He said that in the past, in most cases, the town’s consultant had agreed with the developer’s traffic findings. He added that the members of the Town Board and Planning Board did not have the expertise to evaluate traffic issues, a point Supervisor Grace disagreed with, saying that the Town Board should be able to understand these issues.

In response to Councilman Murphy’s question of what happens if the developer doesn’t agree to the consultant’s study, Mr. Tegeder said that that was not likely to happen as the town wouldn’t be able to finish the project’s review without the consultant’s report.

Acknowledging that the town did not have an in-house traffic expert, Supervisor Grace said he would accept a proposal for using the outside consultant if it had a defined scope of services.

Mr. Tegeder will be in touch with the consultant and report back to the board.

Planning Board, 1/9/2012

This was the board’s first meeting on the application since the three volume DEIS was submitted. Mr. Tegeder said that he has been meeting with the town engineer and environmental consultant to go over the document. He advised the board that he expected the review to be completed within the next two weeks when the application can added to the Jan 23^rd agenda. Based on the initial review, he said that there would be some comments, although nothing “earth shattering.” One of the likely comments included the need for larger pictures and labeling on the pictures to indicate where they were taken from.

Sewer issue: It was noted that the Town Board had opened and then adjourned the public hearing on the applicant’s request to create a new sewer district (Hunterbrook extention #20) to tie into the Peekskill Sanitary Sewer District. Al Capellini, the applicant’s attorney, explained that the parts of the site that included the motel and Kings Gate parcel were already included in the Hunterbrook #17 extension that had been created by the Town Board several years ago as part of an earlier site plan for the parcel but that the extension request had not yet received approval from the Westchester County Board of Legislators. District #17 did not include the 11 homes along Old Crompond Road that are part of the current District #20 plan. Mr. Capellini advised the board that the applicant would wait with the #20 request until after the Planning Board finished its findings and that in a few weeks the applicant may be able to provide additional information about their sewering plans.

Wetlands: In response to comments from the Conservation Board, the applicant acknowledged that additional work needed to be done to delineate the western wetlands, adding that the work was being held up pending a final determination on the exact location of the building.

Planning Board, December 13, 2010

Mr. Capellini said that the draft scoping document picked up all the points brought up at the public scoping hearing. The Planning Board had no additional comments, so adopted the final draft of the scoping document.

Planning Board, November 8, 2010

Public Hearing on Draft DEIS Scope of Work

The site is 18.75 ac in the northwest quadrant of the intersection of the Taconic State Parkway and Route 202. It consists of 4 properties: the old motel site, the fence business (formerly a gas station) on route 202, Zino’s nursery on route 202 and 2 residences on Old Crompond Rd. The plan is for a 151,000 sq ft Cosco store along the Taconic Parkway toward the northeast corner of the site, 610 parking spaces along the front and west side of the site and a gas station at the southwest corner. The site is currently zoned C-3, and no zoning change is required. The motel site is in the Peekskill sewer district, but petition would have to be made to get the rest of the site into a sewer district and to allow hook-ups. The main site entrance and exit would be at the signal at Mohansic Ave., and the gas station would have its own entrance further west along route 202.

Ten acres (=54%) of the site has been previously disturbed for development. It is relatively flat, but drops down to a 1.2 ac wetland on the west. There is also a 0.2 ac, groundwater fed, wetland in the northeast. The site sits 40 ft below the Taconic State Parkway. After the site is developed, there will be 8 ac (out of 18.75 ac) of vegetation which includes the wetlands, TSP buffer and islands in the parking lot.

Stormwater will be treated, detained and slowly released into the western wetland which then flows under Old Crompond Rd into Sherry Brook. In the end, the water leaving the site will equal the existing run-off. The smaller northeastern wetland will continue to discharge to the north. The applicant expects no direct wetland impact, so wetland mitigation will be limited to replanting. The applicant is in discussion with the DEP about stormwater management, and the Conservation Board has asked for a biodiversity study.

The natural gas line has to be extended along Crompond Rd, and the sewer line along Old Crompond Rd from Stony St. Mr. Klaus asked the applicant to consider allowing Old Crompond Road to hook up to this sewer line.

Phil Greely, a traffic engineer with John Collins engineering and also a Yorktown resident, described the current and expected traffic conditions, emphasizing that the applicant is well-aware of the current traffic problems in the area. When BJs opened further west on route 202, the idea was that traffic would use the Bear Mountain Parkway exit from the Taconic and approach BJ’s on route 202 from the west. This would reduce the number of cars exiting the TSP at route 202, turning left and clogging route 202 from the TSP to BJs. This plan never worked, because, faced with congestion at the BMP and Stony St., the BMP and route 202 and route 202 and Pine Grove Ct., drivers chose to exit the TSP at route 202, causing route 202 backups. This meant that signals along route 202, especially at Strang Blvd, had to be timed to prevent the TSP exit from clogging back onto the parkway, which caused delays and congestion on other streets. Currently the NYSDOT is considering changes in the above listed intersections to reduce congestion and therefore encourage drivers to use the BMP. Also Costco will widen route 202 from the TSP to the Costco entrances. Supposedly, these changes will increase the capacity of route 202 and improve the area’s traffic problems, even with the addition of traffic generated by Costco. Traffic planning for Costco runs parallel to and depends on NYSDOT improving other intersections in the area. Costco is supposed to be an impetus for total area traffic improvements. The applicant also pointed out that they have to get the traffic situation right, otherwise their customers won’t be able to get to their store.

The Costco store will be open from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm on weekdays, 9-6 on Saturday and 10-6 on Sunday. The gas station will be open from 6:00 am to about 8:00pm. The Costco site is expected to generate 300 cars entering and exiting per hour and the afternoon peak time. Trucks will only arrive and be unloaded from 4:00am to 10:00am. The trucks unload at the back of the building on the north side.

A representative of Costco described the company. Costco recycles aggressively.
It has a program to decrease the amount of plastic packaging. It is a major sponsor of the Children’s Miracle Network. Costco emphasizes plantings on its sites, especially along highways. The Yorktown site is expected to generate 250-300 jobs, half fulltime and half part time. The jobs pay $11/hour and both full and part time employees qualify for health benefits. In answer to questions from Mr. Flynn, the Costco representative said that there will be no employee recreation facilities, other than a break room and that employees will not be allowed to park motor homes on the Yorktown site.

Public comments/questions:

Ann Kutter, speaking as a resident of Old Crompond Rd: Trees should be planted/preserved to buffer the view of the site from the TSP which is designated a scenic highway. Is the Sherry Brook drain functional? Often it clogs, flooding Old Crompond Rd, especially when mulch from Zino’s Nursery washes off that site.

Will the two houses on Old Crompond Rd be removed? Yes

Old Crompond Rd residents would like to be able to hook up to sewer and gas lines. There are concerns about traffic on Old Crompond Rd and asks the applicant to consider the possibility of making Old Crompond Rd a cul-de-sac at the Costco end.
A neighbor to the site on Old Crompond Rd is concerned about noise and lights from the truck deliveries in the early hours of the morning.

Bill Kellner, Hunter Brook Rd. resident
Access to public transportation should be evaluated. In order to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission, a project of this size should have access to adequate public transportation. This site is served by only one Westchester County Beeline bus, which is usually off schedule. Requiring the bus to actually enter the Costco site to pick up and drop off riders would slow it even more. Requiring a large number of passengers to wait on route 202 is not feasible. An alternative site with better public transportation should be considered, especially considering the life span of this type of store.

John Tegeder, Director of Planning
The impacts on FDR Park, a critical environmental area, should be considered.

Paul Moskowitz, chair of the Energy Advisory Committee
            1. Calculate the carbon footprint of the complete building, including the car traffic
            2. Calculate the carbon footprint of the construction phase, including the loss of trees.
            3. Describe and evaluate any plans for solar/alternative energy uses.
            4. Describe and evaluate any plans for energy star and/or LEEDS construction/practices
            5. Describe/evaluate the incorporation of bicycle-friendly features
            6. Include calculations of all greenhouse gas emissions in scoping

A resident of Eleanor Dr.
This resident is still feeling the impact of the traffic generated by the enlargement of the Cortlandt Town Center. She asks that the congestion, noise and air pollution impacts of the increased truck traffic on the entire area be considered. The trucks will have to use route 202, route 9 and other area highways, not immediately adjacent to the Costco site. Also there will be increased traffic on the TSP. These wider impacts should be evaluated.

Bill Primavera, speaking as a resident
The possibility of moving the Costco building further to the west should be evaluated. This would decrease its visibility from the TSP and preserve the viewsheds from this scenic highway. Mr. Klaus pointed out that the planning board has already requested that balloons be tethered from points on the site so that visibility from the TSP can be evaluated.

Patty Peckham, Baptist Church Rd Resident
The site is projected to deliver 3900 tons of solid waste to the Charles Point facility. This amount should be evaluated in terms of the capacity of the plant. The site will use 10,000 gal of water per day. The impact of this consumption on its the capacity of its source should be considered.

Jenny Sunshine
The impact of Costco on other Yorktown and area businesses should be considered, especially BJs. Mr. Klaus pointed out that BJs and Costco serve a different demographic and co-exist in other areas. Mr. Flynn asked the applicant to provide a list of where this is the case.

Olivia Buehl
Asks about the 15 jobs that will be lost according to the Environmental Assessment Form. These should be identified. The potential need to bus in employees should be evaluated in terms of environmental impact of the bus trips. The percentage of jobs going to town residents should be calculated and evaluated.

The Public Hearing on scoping the DEIS was closed, with a two week period for written comments.

Town Board, January 26, 2010

A group representing a developer for Costco presented preliminary plans to the Board for a Costco to be located next to the Taconic on Route 202. This is the site of the old Motel. The site along the Taconic and Rt 202 on the NW quadrant includes 4 properties - Motel, Nursery, Fence company and 2 dwellings and is on 18.75 acres, currently zoned C3. The plan is to construct a 151,000 sq ft Costco store, 576 parking spaces and a fueling facility for members only. The development will be 30 - 40 feet below the grade of the Southbound Taconic. Mid point in the property it falls off 40 feet into a 1.1 acre wetland on the west side. There is also a .2 acre wetland in the north east corner of the property.

Entry will be opposite Mohansic Avenue with resignalization of that light, and with an additional egress onto 202 between Mohansic and Old Crompond Road. This should disperse exiting right onto the Taconic. There will be no left turn at this exit.

There will be grading in the wetlands buffer and walls will be build around the perimeter for grade transition and to prevent disturbing wetlands on property. 8 acres (42% of the site) will remain green, and the developer will clean up the rest of the site. The presenters claimed accommodating the wetlands makes this project “much more expensive”. Development near the wetlands triggers DEP, DEC involvement in the process.

The group asked the Town Board to keep the present zoning (C3), which could change with master plan adoption (Interchange?). They also asked the Town to help with County approval to expand the sewer district to include the entire site. Currently only the motel site is included. It was also suggested that the Town could use this project as an impetus to get the DOT to come in and improve existing problems. This plan will solve the traffic problems for Costco, according to the developer, but it is also an opportunity to improve existing congestion conditions.

Phil Greeley spoke on Traffic issue. DOT - opportunity to make improvements through Costco development on 202 from Strang Blvd to Old Crompond Rd corridor. They can add a lane through the Taconic interchange area which Phil says can accommodate 6 lanes (2 lanes each way plus two turning lanes) which would improve westbound traffic. The lane they plan to add would go from Strang Blvd to Old Crompond Road (North) just past the Zino Nursery property. They will also upgrade the signals. Greeley suggested this project can be used as a building block in getting more improvements. The developer will fund all improvements within the existing ROW or what it controls. The permit process to get DOT approval for the work begins with Town SEQR process.

Jim Martorano asked about Costco’s charitable contributions, and was told Costco donates 1% of pre-tax dollars. In addition each manager has a discretionary fund above that 1% level. Jim asked if there could be acontribution to the Sr. Center fund and was answered positively.

Questions from other Board members and members of the public present:

Wetlands impacts were noted by Nick Bianco, who indicated he would be more comfortable if the fueling station did not encroach in the northwest corner wetland buffer.

Ann Kutter, of Old Crompond Rd noted that traffic on Old Crompond Rd. (OCR), already a problem, would be adversely impacted by traffic trying to “game the light” at BJ’s by shortcutting down OCR. She also noted there will be a large area to be clearcut, and a large impervious area. She questioned runoff down the hill, noting past problems that clogged the drains so badly the Town had to put in new ones last year, and the impact on the water table. She was told no runoff is allowed per DEP. Construction vehicles coming down the hill on OCR will also negatively impact the neighborhood, especially in light of the proposed Senior development (Crompond Crossing) at the intersection of OCR and Stoney Street. She also expressed concern about light pollution. Noting the proximity of BJ’s she asked if we can support two large stores like that or if we would end up with additional empty retail space.

In response to another question from the public, the developer said this is a "balanced" construction site - no materials trucked in or out. Further questioners asked about where the sewer lines would come into the site, and was told they can bring line up to Rte 202.on in March 11.