SUNDERLAND — More than a year and a half since the first public hearing was held on the proposed 9,100-square-foot Dollar General building at the corner of Route 116 and Clark Mountain Road, the Zoning Board of Appeals voted to close the hearing on Thursday night after listening to residents voice their ongoing concerns with the project.
“We’ve been at this for a while,” ZBA Chair Steve Krol said.
To start the meeting, Town Counsel Michael D’Ortenzio Jr. updated the approximately 20 attendees on the status of the lawsuit that Michael Pill, the attorney representing the applicant, Calito Development Group, filed against the town in October.
“We’ve been driving down two tracks that are parallel to each other,” D’Ortenzio said of the lawsuit and the ZBA’s review of the special permit.
The lawsuit, a Land Court petition, stems from a disagreement between Pill and D’Ortenzio about whether the property of the proposed Dollar General consists of one or two parcels.
While D’Ortenzio believes an Approval Not Required (ANR) plan that the Planning Board endorsed in 2014 effectively splits the property, Pill has said the ANR plan lacks validity without a recording in the Registry of Deeds. On Thursday, D’Ortenzio said the attorneys are looking at case law “pointing in opposite directions.”
The only access point the ZBA has identified for a driveway for the proposed Dollar General is a 21-foot-wide space between these two parcels, a gap based on driveway separation requirements. According to D’Ortenzio, the question at the center of the lawsuit is whether these driveway separation requirements are “legal and enforceable.”
D’Ortenzio recounted that, at the hearing for the lawsuit about a month ago, it was determined that the most efficient path forward would be for the judge to wait to make a determination until after the ZBA issues a decision on the special permit.
“We might as well have the decision, look at the whole picture, and have everything filed and considered at one time and together, so that there isn’t any unnecessary legal back-and-forth,” D’Ortenzio said.
To guide his next steps, D’Ortenzio asked the ZBA whether the driveway separation issue will impact their perspectives on whether to grant the special permit.
“I don’t think the law is intended to be thrown out,” said ZBA member Stuart Beckley, “but … it can’t be applied in this situation.”
While ZBA member Hollis Graves said he is “neutral,” member James Williams Jr. agreed with Beckley. Member Jim Bernotas shared a different view.
“The board exists to work with the bylaw that is put in front of us. The driveway separation bylaw is part of that,” Bernotas said. “It’s not up to the board to determine whether that bylaw is legal or not … so my job on this board is to work with what I have written in front of me, and therefore I think it applies in that case.”
ZBA associate member Amanda Hanley agreed with Bernotas.
The board will discuss the driveway issue further during the deliberations for the special permit, which will start at its next meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 23, at 6:30 p.m.
Krol then read several letters from Sunderland residents who believe the proposed Dollar General would increase traffic along Route 116 and endanger the safety of its drivers and pedestrians while “[threatening] the small businesses that make Sunderland unique,” as resident Norbert Kaminski wrote in a letter.
“Beyond the impact on any single business, developments of this kind tend to slowly push out the small, family-owned stores that give a town its identity,” a letter from Sunderland Market owners Atif and Uzma Tasneem reads. “When local businesses close, residents lose more than a place to shop; they lose the everyday connections and sense of community that come from knowing the people behind the counters. Sunderland has kept that kind of community bond in a way many towns have not, and I believe it is worth protecting. … This concern is not abstract for my family. This store is our bread and butter, and it is our sole source of income.”
Atif and Uzma Tasneem added that their son has relied on a ventilator for the past two years.
“The stability this business provides is essential to our day-to-day living and his care,” the letter continues. “Any disruption to our income would directly affect our ability to meet his needs and support our household.”
The audience applauded after Krol read the letter.
Krol reminded the audience that the ZBA will review eight criteria to determine whether the “adverse effects” of the proposed Dollar General outweigh the benefits. The criteria include the social, economic or community needs the proposal serves; traffic flow and safety; adequacy of utilities and other public services; neighborhood character and social structures; qualities of the natural environment; potential fiscal impact; the impact on drainage, stormwater management or drinking water recharge areas; and the impact on public safety and municipal services.
“It’s a no-brainer,” commented Sunderland resident Carrie Kline. “It’s just extremely unthinkable that this would go through and pass those criteria. … I’d like to have faith in this group that you read these criteria and that you abide, and that you know that your community is behind you.”
