The Planning Board, which now has the go-ahead to review the site plan, made that determination at a work session on Monday, Oct. 17.
The site had previously been eyed for a Costco and a members-only gas station but Costco bowed out recently, meaning that the site's owners had to seek out new tenants.
Besides a 120,000-square-foot Lowe’s, new plans call for two restaurants and a bank.
After visiting the 18.75-acre site off Route 202, environmental consultant Bruce Barber reported that 297 trees will be removed, based on the town’s new law that increased the size of “protected” trees to 8 inch dbh (diameter at breast height) from 6 inch dbh, ciyinfo.org reported.
According to ciyinfo.org, the home improvement store plans to plant 334 new trees throughout the site.
It will present a “mitigation plan” for the tree removal at a Planning Board work session on Monday, Nov. 7.
The plan will be based on the functional needs of the site and will attempt to meet the same absorption benefits that the removed trees provided, ciyinfo.org reported.
Planning Board member John Flynn asked the project’s developers to consider building sidewalks linking the restaurants and bank to the bus stop as well as to the Lowe’s building.
The applicant said he would “accommodate” Flynn’s request, ciyinfo.org reported.
Lighting plans for the new project are said to be similar to Costco’s. They include 16-foot poles along the site’s perimeter, 25-foot poles in the parking lot and 20-foot poles along the building, ciyinfo.org reported.
The fixtures will all be “dark-sky” lights, which are designed to minimize glare and cut back on light pollution.
A public hearing on the site plan will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 21, at Town Hall, 363 Underhill Ave.
It will be telecast on Optimum Channel 20 and FiOS Channel 23.
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