Vote Stands on CVS Project

A 4-2 vote in favor of a plan to build a new CVS pharmacy at 330 Main St. will stand and the project will go forward. That’s the decision of the Town Plan and Zoning Commission after checking with the town attorney on the validity of the vote, taken April 20.

The question comes from a regulation that requires five of six commissioners to vote for a project if the building or pavement will cover between 40 and 50 percent of the site. Coverage above 50 percent requires a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals.

But the CVS plan, brought by developer Jeff Giannone of Tucker Investments, proposes a site coverage of 57.2 percent of the property – down from the 63.9 percent now covered by the Silo Restaurant and an office building.

“The attorney made two findings – one black and white and the other kind of gray,” said Town Planner Jeffery Ollendorf. “His first finding was that the vote did not require a 5/6 vote because that is only applicable where site coverage is between 40 and 50 percent. This didn’t fit that criteria.”

The second issue was open to the interpretation of the commission.

“Under the section of zoning code that deals with nonconforming usage, the commission had to make a decision as to whether this would be considered a full reconstruction or not. That’s where the issue of precedent came in,” Ollendorf said.

The commission looked at how the ordinance has been interpreted in the past and found the Henny Penny convenience store project to be most similar. The building was completely rebuilt in 1995 and the project was approved without any variances, Ollendorf said.

The project is now subject to a three-week appeals window, during which direct neighbors of the property may file appeals with the Superior Court.

If the plan were successful, Mary Santorso, owner of the Silo restaurant, would be able to retire and see the property on the corner of Main Street and Scott Swamp Road replaced with a 12,900-square-foot CVS with a drive-through window. The property would be landscaped with 50 new trees, shrubs, grass and fencing.