Developers get key town approvals to move forward with Whole Foods project in Brighton

The town of Brighton gave two major approvals to the Whole Foods project Wednesday, after the developers made several 11th-hour changes to a proposal that has been the talk of the town for over three years.

The Town Board, in a unanimous vote, found that the developers, together with engineers and other experts and using hundreds of pages of documents and studies, have successfully mitigated adverse environmental impacts the project might bring to the area.

The project received a "positive" findings statement as part of the New York state development review process, meaning that the project is approvable based on its current mitigation of negative impacts. The board then voted to approve the project's incentive zoning application.

Some meeting attendees were upset that the items were added to the meeting agenda less than 24 hours before the meeting began, with Kevin Saunders, the legal representation for neighborhood advocacy group Clover/Allens Creek neighborhood Association, questioning, "What's the rush?"

"All we asked, literally, was for two more weeks," said Saunders. "Did you notice today how many people were in the gallery? Honestly, how many? Twenty, and five of them were Danieles. There might have been 15 people here from the public listening to one of the biggest business developments that have taken place in Brighton in decades."

The project, proposed by the Daniele Family Cos., is proposed to include a 50,000-square-foot Whole Foods grocery store, plus an additional 33,700 square feet of retail space in a Monroe Avenue plaza that formerly housed Mario’s Restaurant and Clover Lanes bowling alley. These buildings, plus Mamasan’s Restaurant, would be demolished for the construction of the new plaza.

There's still a long road ahead in terms of town approvals before the developers receive building permits or put shovels in the ground, said developer Danny Daniele via text Wednesday. The plan will now head to the Planning Board for site plan review, which will iron out details of the plaza design. But Wednesday's approvals were the first steps toward an clear path for the project.

The developers amended the project plan after Town Supervisor Bill Moehle publicly asked them earlier this month to do two things: Decrease the overall size of the project by 6,300 square feet, which removed one outparcel from the site and took the overall project square footage down to 83,700; and enter into a binding, permanent agreement not to open any exits from the plaza onto Allens Creek Road or Clover Street — both side streets about which neighbors have expressed traffic concerns in connection with this project.

The Danieles have agreed to both of Moehle's requests, based on the town’s findings statement (part of the state review process) posted on the town’s website.

"I think it’s a win-win-win. Win for the neighbors, win for the developer and win for the town, and we look forward to moving ahead with the projects," said Anthony Daniele following the conclusion of the meeting.

He went on to say that the only roadblock he foresees is a possible legal battle brought on by competing businesses.

"I think it would be a mistake to try to file a lawsuit at this point. I think this community is well aware of the fact that competition is good. Choices are good. We’re committed to making this thing happen," said Daniele. "The town has said 'yes,' we need to community to say ‘yes’ so that we can move forward with this project."

Many neighbors have had negative feedback about the project during the review process, mostly regarding traffic and size concerns. The Clover/Allens Creek Neighborhood Association filed a lawsuit this year involving the section of the Auburn Trail that runs behind the property.

A business advocacy group, Save Monroe Avenue, arose during the process, and the legal representation for the group of local businesses has sent a number of legal documents to the town and the developers, drawing attention to various aspects of the proposal the group said caused concern.

No one seemed upset about the possibility of a Whole Foods store in the area or the potential for development in that plaza. But some neighbors said they lost faith in their town leaders throughout this process, because they felt their voices weren’t being heard.

Those thoughts were somewhat mitigated by Moehle’s statements earlier in the month. The supervisor’s requested changes were a “positive sign that the Town Supervisor is committed to actually addressing our concerns and working toward a solution that protects the neighborhood,” said Ben Werzinger, president of the neighborhood association, in a text at the time.

In leading up to the vote on Wednesday night, Moehle thanked all stakeholders, including those who have challenged the board throughout the process.

"This has been a three year project. We’ve had five public hearings. We’ve had a lot of people who have come out and spoken their minds. Some of them have been pretty rough on me and that’s OK," said Moehle. "I know my colleagues listened. We’ve all listened. We’ve changed this project, we’ve made it better, and I believe it’s now a project that can enhance this community."

STADDEO@Gannett.com

LPEACE@Gannett.com