GREENFIELD — Aldi, the discount supermarket chain based in Germany, is one step closer to setting up shop in Greenfield after the Conservation Commission approved special conditions for the project proposed for 208 Mohawk Trail.

Commissioners this week voted unanimously to give the proposal their blessing, provided that a stormwater pollution prevention plan is submitted before construction starts and the commission gets a report on progress toward wetlands resource restoration annually for the first two years. An operations and maintenance log book must be kept throughout the work as part of the conditions of the commission’s approval.

The proposal must now go before the Planning Board, according to Mitchell Vye, a conservation agent with the city’s Department of Planning and Development.

Andy Platt of Bohler Engineering was present at Tuesday’s remote public hearing and explained the plan to construct a 19,432-square-foot grocery store on the site of the now-demolished Candlelight Motor Inn. The 6.7-acre property, located west of Interstate 91 behind McDonald’s, is owned by Benderson Development. According to Platt, the property will be leased by Aldi for the store and 97 parking spaces, as well as another 18 spaces granted by easement to McDonald’s.

Platt said the site also has frontage on Robbins Road. It is located between Wheeler Brook to the north on the other side of Route 2 and Smead Brook, which runs through the site. Both, Platt said, have 200 feet of riverfront area. There is also bordering vegetative wetlands on the western end, in addition to an off-site bordering vegetative wetland south of the property.

Platt explained the southern third of the property will remain wooded hillside. Stormwater from the woods will drain to a grass swale that will discharge directly to Smead Brook. The developed part of the site, Platt said, will drain to a storm sewer system consisting of multiple layers of water treatment.

Dorothy Lawrence, of the civil engineering consulting and design firm VHB Inc., said the project’s engineers worked with a landscape architect specializing in the use of native plants. She said developers are amenable to changing the list of plants destined for the site. She also said any trash and debris will be removed from the property prior to construction.

Matthew Oates, of Benderson Development, said the firm has owned the property for 17 or 18 years.

Resident Al Norman, known for his crusades against bringing retail giant Walmart to Greenfield, chimed in to object to this project’s scope. He noted the developers’ plans are four times the size of the Applebee’s restaurant on the Mohawk Trail.

“They’re trying to squeeze a size 9 plan into a size 2 shoe,” he said, participating in the remote hearing by phone. “This project is just too big.”

Norman also said there are other places in Greenfield that are better suited for an Aldi.

At least two people left comments to say they disagreed with Norman following his remarks. Earlier in the public hearing, one person wrote that Greenfield needs “access to affordable food.”

Aldi, which started in Germany in 1961 and opened its first U.S. store in 1976, is known for keeping prices low by eliminating non-essential features. The stores mainly sell products similar to big-name brands and customers bag their own groceries. Shoppers also insert a 25-cent deposit to use a grocery cart. They take their quarter back when they return the cart. The chain’s website states this deposit reduces the need to hire extra staff to collect carts.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.

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