DEERFIELD — After more than an hour of discussion Thursday night, voting members of the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) supported a motion to instruct town counsel to draft a decision of approval for a special permit with certain conditions for the development of a Dollar General store on Routes 5 and 10.
“The board can review that (draft) at a future deliberation session, and vote it if it believes it’s in final form and appropriate,” Town Counsel Adam Costa said. “The board can make changes to it if there are gaps or misstatements that I’ve included based on my notes and records of proceedings. The board can decide when it sees the approval reduced to writing that it shouldn’t be approving it after all, and it can decide that it really wants to deny it.”
The motion to draft a decision of approval was supported by Chair Bernie Sadoski, members Robert Decker III and Adam Sokoloski, and alternate member Alex Herchenreder. It was rejected by member John Stobierski.
Although ZBA member David Potter was recently appointed by the Selectboard as a full member from his previous role as an alternate, Herchenreder had been designated by the chair as the voting member on the issue at the close of the public hearing in November.
The board expects to deliberate on the draft at a remote meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 3, at 6 p.m.
Prior to the vote, Stobierski made a motion — as he did at the last meeting on the subject — to reopen the public hearing. The motion, however, did not receive a second.
“I can’t believe this board doesn’t want to consider this stuff, and look at it,” Stobierski said, referring to a letter that was submitted by Attorney Michael Aleo, which included a hydrologist’s report of the development site.
The report, which was determined to be part of the public record, stated that the information on the environment received from the applicant was wrong, he said, and therefore the project could potentially cause flooding.
“That is new information, and I think we should consider that,” he said.
Sokoloski said that information can be discussed as a board and considered, but that it wasn’t necessary to reopen the public hearing for it.
“I read that thing with a fine-tooth comb … back and forth,” he said. “I’ve considered it.”
Stobierski, however, argued that the hydrologist, Stephen Garabedian, should have been offered an opportunity to give testimony at a public hearing.
Ultimately, Decker made a motion to instruct town counsel to draft a decision of approval, and the board discussed conditions it would like to see included in the draft decision.
Sokoloski said if the board were to grant a special permit, he would like to see the following conditions: requiring that all stormwater and conservation requirements be met; instructing the applicant to use renewable energy; and sourcing things as locally as possible, when reasonable.
“I think those conditions should be able to be met by the applicant … with a reasonable standard (of time),” Sokoloski said.
Stobierski said his conditions would concern managing trash at the site; scheduling deliveries so as to mitigate traffic congestion; prohibiting signs on state land; and not allowing modifications to the plants and trees on the state land in front of the proposed development. He also asked that a bicycle rack be installed.
“I think this board’s making a terrible mistake, but if it’s going to be a mistake, I’ll try to make sure it’s lessened,” he said.
Costa requested any conditions the ZBA wishes to see included in the draft decision be submitted to him through the town. The board agreed unanimously to have those submitted by a deadline of Jan. 22.
“Nothing is final until it’s final,” Costa said. “This is the final step before you prepare yourselves to vote ‘yay’ or ‘nay’ on the project.”
Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne