Albion Planning Board gives final OK to Dollar General
This photo shows a printout of a Dollar General rendering of a proposed store on East Avenue in Albion, across from the high school.
ALBION – A new Dollar General received its final approval today from the Village of Albion for a new 10,640-square-foot retail store across from the high school.
Many nearby residents and other community members have expressed concerns about having the store in a congested area near the school where there are many kids walking to and from school.
Karen Conn, chairwoman of the Village of Albion Planning Board
But the Village of Albion Planning Board said they anticipate the store will have a small impact on traffic and pedestrians.
Karen Conn, the Planning Board chairwoman, said the site at 327 East Ave. is in the general business district. The store fits with the zoning.
The Broadway Group, developer for Dollar General, will demolish an existing building that previously was used for auto sales and a warehouse. Ridge Road Station parks school buses on the site.
“Honestly, I think it will improve the neighborhood, compared to what is there now, which is in rough shape,” Conn said.
The Broadway Group will also remove three underground tanks and do other site remediation to Department of Environmental Conservation standards.
The Planning Board worked with the company to improve the original proposed store design, which was more of a pole barn style, said Janet Navarra, a Planning Board member. She said the company is giving Albion its top design for the size of the Albion market.
The Planning Board approved the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) for the project and went line by line on potential environmental impacts. The board found the store would have small impacts or none on different environmental issues. There are no wetlands for example and the site isn’t in a historic district.
Board members expect to see a minimal impact on traffic. The store will be on Route 31, a state road.
The Orleans County Planning Board on Feb. 26 recommended Albion approve the site plan for the project, saying the store is consistent with a general commercial district and isn’t expected to have any significant negative impacts to the nearby residents or school.
The site is in a school zone with the speed limit at 20 miles per hour, and there is an ice cream business next to the site.
Delivery trucks will come outside of peak hours and will be limited to exiting from the east only. That was a stipulation by the state Department of Transportation.
The Village Planning Board members – Karen Conn, Samuel Robinson, Mike Massaro, Jeff Holler and Janet Navarra – were unanimous in approving the site plan.
