Church wary of Stewart’s plans
Company looking to build larger store near house of worship
BRUNSWICK, N.Y. » Officials from Stewart’s Shops have been working to get all the necessary approvals in order to create a new shop on Route 7.
However, members of the Center Brunswick United Methodist Church aren’t happy with the proposal.
For several months, Stewart’s Shops has been taken steps to get approval to build a new shop at 1001 Hoosick Road. Officials from the company have participated in several public meetings with residents and with town officials and they will hold another public hearing Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. during a planning board meeting.
Stewart’s Shops has had a
smaller location in Brunswick across the street from the church, but are planning to build a bigger shop with more gas pumps just down the road from its current location.
“The next meeting will just be a continuation of a public hearing and site plan consideration,” said Chuck Marshall, a spokesman for Stewart’s Shops. “We’re pretty far into the project. It’s not a new proposal, there’s four gas pumps proposed with a building that’s 3,675 square-feet.”
Another part of the proposal would include a widening of Route 7 to construct a new turning lane near the shop, but members from the nearby church at 990 Hoosick Rd. believe that the widening of Route 7 would effect a few things with their property along with traffic.
“We’re not happy with their plans to widen the road to put the turning lane in,” said Jim Burden, chairman of the CBUMC trustees. “It’s going to move the road closer to the church and we think it’s definitely going to be an issue for us. The church has been there for 110 years and the road keeps getting closer and closer to the building to the point where it’s really approaching our property and I believe this would bring it about 10 to 15 feet from our building.”
Although the church group claims the expansion will affect their property, officials from Stewart’s claim that it actually won’t affect their property.
“The access configuration proposes widen Route 7, but none of their property would be taken because the expansion was being done in the right away,” added Marshall.
Burden also believes that the state highway of Route 7 will also get even more congested with traffic, but Stewart’s already has had a traffic study done and said that traffic won’t be affected any differently.
“They are claiming that it’s not going to increase heavy traffic and they’re also saying that there’s not a traffic problem on Route 7 from the state’s position,” said Burden, but we feel differently.”
Marshall said they have also discussed alternatives to widening Route 7 with residents and town officials.
“One of the alternatives that was discussed at the last Planning Board meeting was a widen that occurs all on our side of the road, so we’re having our traffic engineer evaluate that,” explained Marshall.
Russ Oster, chairman of the town Planning Board, said there were also some other concerns from residents during recent public meetings on this proposal.
“There was another issue regarding a house that’s on the proposed property now, “said Oster. “This house, a lot of people considered [it] historic, it was going to be either removed or moved and they had to go through that whole process with the New York State Preservation Department, and they’ve done that and they’ve changed their physical structure to incorporate some of the architecture of that house and put a historic background plaque there too.”
Marhsall said the company has already received its special-use permit and area variances, however, they will still need approval for their site plan along with approval from the state Department of Transportation to widen the road.
Marshall said he believes the expansion, if fully approved, wouldn’t take place until sometime next year.