Brett Sholtis

bsholtis@ydr.com

German discount grocer Lidl plans to open three supermarkets around York County, part of its push into the U.S. market.

Those projects are underway, with recent developments in Springettsbury, Spring Garden and Dover townships.

Lidl representatives weren't available for comment, but the company has said it will open most of its planned U.S. stores in 2018. Here are updates on the three York County stores:

Traffic concerns in Springettsbury Township

After a more than two-hour meeting April 20, Springettsbury Township tabled a discussion with a developer that wants to build retail spaces for Lidl and Royal Farms.

Development along that road is expected to add more than 6,500 trips per day through the intersection of Concord Road and Mount Zion Road, according to a January 2017 transportation impact study the township provided. The added traffic, as well as concerns about "access points" to the shopping areas, could gridlock an intersection that's "already burdened and potentially bogged down," said township zoning officer Jessica Fieldhouse.

Some of the vehicles counted in that number would have already traveled on the route, regardless of whether the grocery store and convenience store were built, said Brett Dahlman, Quattro director of construction and development. Dahlman said the number of actual vehicles the development will add to the intersection is about 1,980 per day.

More: New supermarket planned for Springettsbury Township

The ball is in PennDOT's court to approve the developer's traffic study, but the state agency first wants input from Springettsbury Township, Fieldhouse said.

“The township needs to really understand the impact on traffic," Fieldhouse said, and it hasn't given PennDOT a response yet.

The developer, Quattro Development, doesn't foresee any issues going forward and hopes to get its permit in May, said company co-owner Rob Walters. The company hopes to get its needed permits and book a local contractor to do the construction in the fall.

With the added traffic, it will be necessary to redesign the intersection, Fieldhouse said. That's a roughly $500,000 project, which the developer would pay for. That includes adding lanes to Concord Road and lengthening the southbound left turn approaches on Mount Zion Road.

Those improvements "will help alleviate the impacts from the additional traffic generated by our development," Dahlman said.

The township will revisit the issue at its May 18 meeting.

"It's a conversation about impact on traffic but also how are we going to navigate these new access points," Fieldhouse said.

Seeking variance in Dover Township

Along Carlisle Road, Lidl plans to open a store at a long-vacant retail space that once was the site of a Shurfine.

The company has applied for a variance at that site, which would put the grocery store about 32 feet away from the road, said Georgia Sprenkel, township zoning officer. The current rule is that it must be 50 feet from the road.

“They found out the Dover site is a little bit smaller, and they are adamant on having one prototype store," Sprenkel said.

Read: Discount grocer coming to Dover?

Lidl also wants to put up a 19-foot high sign, which requires a variance, Sprenkel said. The zoning hearing board will consider those issues at a May 17 meeting,

Sprenkel said Lidl hasn't indicated when it hopes to start construction, or when it might open the location. “We would like it to have started yesterday. Everybody’s anxious to have them come into the community.”

Ready to build in Spring Garden Township

Lidl aims to open a grocery store at "Shoppes at Wyndham," a planned retail center that will include the 33,000-square-foot grocery store building and 20,000 square-feet of additional space for 12 retailers.

Lidl bought its portion of the center for $2.5 million from Spring Lane LLC last year.

The township has issued a building permit, giving Spring Lane the go-ahead to start construction, said Linda Keller, township zoning officer.

Spring Lane and Lidl weren't immediately available for comment.

Lidl, which operates about 10,000 stores in Europe, will open its first U.S. locations this summer, according to Supermarket News. The company has located its U.S. headquarters in Arlington County, Virginia, and has set up distribution centers in North Carolina, Maryland and Virginia.

Read: Lidl coming to Shoppes at Wyndham