Thompson and SRD reach compromise regarding supermarket plans

NORTH EAST ­­— After submitting a letter to the Planning Board that he was “not prepared to move forward with the shopping center project currently before the board,” on Oct. 22, 2012, co-applicant Ken Thompson has since had a change of heart. He is now prepared to cooperate with John Joseph of Southern Realty and Development LLC (SRD), the applicant behind the proposal for a 36,000-square-foot supermarket off Route 44, behind Thompson Plaza, as he stated in a letter submitted to the Planning Board on Dec. 27, 2012.“I hereby withdraw my letters of Oct. 22, 2012, and Nov. 12, 2012,” Thompson stated. “I hereby ratify and confirm my authorization, originally dated Nov. 10, 2010, whereby I, individually and on behalf of Kenneth Thompson, LLC, authorized John Joseph, Southern Realty LLC, to prosecute the above-referenced site plan application.”Thompson’s original objections caused the application to be officially suspended by the Planning Board at its meeting on Nov. 14, 2012, because his authorization was needed for the supermarket to proceed with its site plan (which includes a shared driveway with Thompson Plaza). Lot-line adjustments were sought from both Thompson and neighbor Basil Gabriel, whose properties are adjacent to the 10-plus-acre site SRD plans to purchase from Quinmill Properties once the application gains approval.Though Thompson stated in October that he had “not been included in much of the planning or development” of the site plan, his recent letter assured the board “I fully support the plan as it sits before the board, and join Mr. Joseph, Southern Realty and Quinmill in requesting that it be favorably considered by the board.” He even went so far as to “apologize for the confusion by my Oct. 22, 2012, and Nov. 12, 2012, letters.”For his part, Joseph agreed to a number of conditions in reaching the compromise. They include: terminating the first right of approval over the Thompson and Basil property; plowing the entire Thompson property; replacing as needed the asphalt in the truck drive isle; replacing or relocating septic as required; using best efforts to not install trees in front of Thompson Plaza; installing all sidewalks on the Thompson property; filling in depressed land areas in front of the Thompson parcel near Route 44; and working with Bridgeway Credit Union for a pad on the Thompson parcel.The conditions were part of a reciprocal easement agreement.Planning Board Chairman Dale Culver said now that a compromise between the two sides has been reached, the application can be put back in motion.“We’re just going to basically pick up where we left off and there will probably be a motion at the next meeting to un-suspend the action and then pick up with the experts in the middle of Part 3 of the Environmental Assessment Form [EAF],” he said. The EAF is part of the required State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) process.“Not to sound cold about it, but we don’t care if there’s an application in front of us or not. If it’s there we work on it and if not we can’t, and the only hiccup is a timeline. It doesn’t undo work that’s done or cause work to be done,” Culver said. “We stopped, now we’ll start again. But it’s always a little in the back of your mind, what will be the next issue to arise? “Culver said the current Planning Board has never dealt with a project of this magnitude and that doing so takes time. After restarting the application the next step will entail reconvening the town’s engineer, planner and attorney for the EAF review. Once that’s done the board will make either a negative or positive declaration, which will determine the length and detail of the remainder of the environmental review.