The proposed change would increase the maximum warehouse size allowed in the B-1 district fivefold, to 250,000 square feet from 50,000 square feet.
The town’s main B-1 district, or business district, anchors around the State Route 211 corridor between White Bridge Road and the Dollar General store.
A local landowner requested the zoning change to make way for a potential 400,000-square-foot warehousing development on his property at the intersection of Route 211 and White Bridge Road, according to information provided by town Supervisor Matt Howell at the meeting.
The property was formerly a horse farm and totals more than 70 acres.
Under the current warehouse zoning, the developer will have to build eight 50,000-square-foot buildings to deliver the desired scale, whereas if the zoning is changed as requested, two buildings would suffice, an engineer speaking on behalf of the landowner said at the meeting.
“What we ask is that instead of doing multiple buildings, which actually have more cars and more traffic, that we can group those—not increasing [the total] square footage—into two buildings: 150,000 square feet on this side and 250,000 square feet on that side,” the engineer told a town hall meeting room packed with concerned residents.
Two warehouse entrances would be put on Route 211, in addition to an emergency access road on White Bridge Road, according to the engineer.
“Had this builder not come to you, would you be changing the law?” one resident asked. “Why not wait until the builder goes through [the planning] process? Why are you jumping the gun?”
Another resident said, “If you are changing the law now, you are giving implicit approval in advance.”
Mr. Howell said even with the warehouse code change, any potential development would still have to go through the standard planning board process for approval.
A number of residents questioned whether it was wise to change the entire B-1 district code for a single project.
“We can’t really focus only on this parcel because you have to look at the overall impact,” a resident said. “Without changing the law, [the applicant] still has the ability to go to the zoning board of appeals to try to get a waiver from [the warehouse] restriction.”
The zoning board of appeals hears requests for departures from requirements set in the zoning law.
A few dozen residents, mostly homeowners on White Bridge Road, expressed their concerns over warehouses and truck traffic altering the small-town feel of the area.
“If this passes, I’ll leave,” a resident who has lived in the area for 19 years told the town board. “Just to destroy this country setting that we all live in and came for would be terrible.”
Concerns about road safety, air quality, and house values were also raised at the meetings.
One resident asked how to get the area surrounding the former horse farm rezoned back to the agriculture district to prevent future commercial development.
Mr. Howell said the area became part of the business district when the town last updated its zoning map in 2019; a key rationale behind the change was to drive up tax revenue through commercial projects.
“Tax revenues from a commercial project are much larger than a comparable residential project,” he said.
One resident said, “There is a balance between the interest of the whole town and the revenue in versus the local area.”
The resident also said not enough information was available yet to evaluate the impact of large warehouses on the local area, so any vote now would be premature.
“If you lived on White Bridge Road, would you think that was appropriate?” another resident asked the town board.
Mr. Howell said although he thought two larger warehouses would be less disruptive than a group of smaller buildings, he respected the will of the public.
“It seems to be the voice of the public that things stay where they are,” he said, noting that the town board wouldn’t vote on the item at the Nov. 20 meeting.
“I respect all of you that came out to state your opinion,” town Councilman Christopher Furman said at the meeting. “I think maybe the project should go to the planning board first.”
