Joseph Morelle says he can't support current Whole Foods proposal in Brighton

As the Whole Foods project plods through the town review process in Brighton, state Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Morelle weighed in on the impact he feels the current proposal could have on nearby neighbors.

After a number of his constituents expressed concern about the project bringing traffic to the Brighton/Pittsford area, and given it is situated on a state road — Monroe Avenue — Morelle, D-Irondequoit, expressed his own concerns about the project through a letter to neighbors, dated Nov. 30.

“The only real involvement that the state has here is related to traffic,” he said. While the ultimate decision on whether the proposal is suitable for that area lies with the town, Morelle said he sees the project’s impact on Monroe Avenue drivers as substantial.

“It’s my belief that the current proposed size of the project is inconsistent with the need to try to make Monroe Avenue a route that people can travel without significant traffic delays,” he said Thursday.

The letter noted that Morelle met multiple times with the town and the state Department of Transportation about the project, and does not believe “acceptable solutions exist that will adequately address our shared safety concerns and drastically improve traffic outcomes despite mitigation plans brought to the table,” he said in the letter.

“I cannot support this project as currently proposed,” he continued.

The letter initially went to Ben Werzinger, a local resident and leader of the Clover/Allen’s Creek Neighborhood Association, who was asked to get it to interested neighbors, he said. Numerous residents have voiced their concerns about the project to Morelle in some form, Werzinger added, and Morelle ultimately chose to put his thoughts out in the open.

“All along I just wanted someone to pay attention to the concerns,” said Werzinger. “(Morelle’s) letter is going to make people feel like someone’s listening to them.”

The project, which would bring about 90,000 square feet of total retail space, including a Whole Foods Market location, to the 10-acre site, has been in the town’s proposal cycle of documents, public hearings and meetings for going on three years.

The town is currently reviewing the proposal plans from Daniele Family Companies, the project’s developers, and comments from the public and involved organizations, such as the state DOT. This review will be detailed as part of the town's completion of a Final Environment Impact Statement, or FEIS, which looks at the overall area impacts of the proposed project. The completion deadline for that document is Dec. 31.

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Brighton Town Supervisor Bill Moehle did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story this week.

As part of the document preparation, the developers and their traffic consultants have met with the state DOT throughout the year, making modifications to the traffic plan that will “significantly improve traffic flow on Monroe Avenue,” said Danny Daniele.

Public documents show that DOT representatives have commented this fall on details, such as placement of turning arrows, included in recent traffic analyses for the project. DOT representatives could not be reached for comment Thursday.

While the square footage of the proposed development is about 20,000 square feet more than what’s allowed by code on the property, that’s not going to significantly increase the traffic impact from the project, said Daniele. The extra size is being considered as part of an incentive zoning application for the project.

Also, a Monroe Avenue Corridor Density analysis study included with the developer’s proposal documents shows that several other parcels on Monroe Avenue are were built out to a larger scale than the zoning code allowed, said Daniele.

On Morelle’s letter, Daniele argues that “it is not based on facts.”

STADDEO@Gannett.com