Town Planning Board mulling Stop & Shop proposal; some opposition

Artist's rendering of new site of Stop & Shop supermarket on Route 109 in West Babylon. Some residents are opposing the plan saying it will intrude on their residential neighborhood while the company says it is doing everything it can to be a good neighbor. A decision is expected shortly

by Carolyn James

Longstanding plans to open a Stop & Shop Supermarket on Route 109 in West Babylon have run into some community resistance. Residents in the area said they are concerned about the project and asked that the Town reject the company’s request for certain variances needed to move the project forward.

Tim Walters, a resident of West Babylon and chairman of the West Babylon Community Watch Group, which has presented the Town with a petition signed by hundreds of residents, said the community is primarily concerned about traffic and congestion in the area. The petition says the project compromises the quality of life for residents living near it and compromise the safety of children. "The area will become congested with traffic," the residents contend.

But representatives for Stop & Shop said they are working with the community to alleviate any and all concerns, both prior to and after construction, and have gone out of their way to respond to the residents.

"They (the residents) are, afterall, our customers," said James Sylvia, vice president for real estate for Stop & Shop. "And we want to have a good relationship with them and be good neighbors."

Following a meeting September 26, it was agreed that certain parking prohibitions would be enacted and Children at Play signs will be installed.

"It is Stop & Shop's policy to maintain an ongoing dialogue with all interested parties to ensure that any reasonble requests from the community are considered said Dave Vieser, a spokesman for the company.

The two sides will come together again at a public meeting Wednesday, October 9, 7 p.m., Babylon Town Hall. All interested parties are urged to attend.

The site backs up to Golding, Ecker, Nims and Salem streets, some of which shoppers are likely to use to avoid the traffic light on Route 109.

The company initially had all town approvals to build the store at the intersection of Golding Avenue in 1996. At that time, the company came in, demolished some dilapidated buildings there, did an environmental clean up of the site, and was proceeding to build an earlier generations store of 69,000 square feet. At that time, the plans drew little or no opposition.

Shortly thereafter, however, Royal Ahold, owners of the former Edward’s supermarket chain acquired Stop & Shop and took over responsibility for all of the Long Island stores, including the Route 109 project. When Stop & Shop returned to Long Iisland and converted the Edwards’ stores to the Stop & Shop banner, the company revived its plans to move forward with the store at Route 109 and Golding Avenue.

The new facility, which will be owned and operated by Stop & Shop, will be approximately 66,000 square feet, 3,000 square feet smaller than the initial plan. Entrances and exits to the site will be through Route 109 with no openings on Golding Avenue, which is adjacent to residential homes. the company will install a traffic signal at the entranceway and has made other changes to the plans, some as a result of issues raised by the Town and residents.

"We have reached out to people on an individual basis and tried to address their concerns and most have been satisfied," said James Sylvia, vice president for real estate for Stop & Shop. "We continue to reach out to our neighbors and even after we are open here, we will be responsive to the public’s questions and concerns."

Sylvia said this approach has helped the company put together an even better proposal than they had initially brought forward. "We cannot possibly anticipate all of the issues and many people have had some reasonable requests and good ideas that we have implemented," he said. "We have a tremendous investment here and we want to we and will do whatever it takes to make it right."

The company anticipates the project will cost between $7 and $10 million.

The Town of Babylon has set down some covenants and restrictions that address some of the residents concerns. They include a prohibition against truck deliveries or entry on to the site by trucks between 10 p.m., and 7 a.m. Golding Avenue will not be utilized by the store for truck deliveries and no thru trucking signs will be posted. In addition:

•all trucking must enter at the traffic light at Route 109 and Arnold Avenue;

•all on site lighting must be directed onto the site and not extend beyond property boundaries;

•no trucks will be permitted to idle on site at any time;

The Town also requires that deposit bottle operations be conducted inside the building. The owners, after discussing issues with the residents, have also agreed to add visual appeal to the side of the building that faces Golding Avenue, add a masonry wall around the truck bay and increase the size of density of the buffer on the east side of the property that runs along the residential community.

In addition, the town has set down regulations regarding the construction, limiting the hours and setting a standard of operation. The owners will be responsible for the upkeep of the entire site both during construction and following the store’s opening, according to the Town report.