By David Tyler
A proposed 9,200 square-foot Family Dollar store at the northern edge of the village of Minoa came under heavy scrutiny at a public hearing held by the village planning board last Thursday.
Dave Muraco, the developer, wants to tear down an existing single-family home to pave the way for the discount store, which is adjacent to Minoa Elementary School. A cement block building on the site, the former Rothman Garage, would be subdivided off of the parcel and “given a facelift” for a possible future development.
Muraco has owned the parcel for about 16 years, and around 2005 had proposed to build a convenience store and filling station at the front of the property with apartment buildings in the back. That proposal never came to fruition because of wetlands near the back of the property, Muraco said.
A steady stream of Minoa residents criticized the project for its potential impact on safety, traffic and the character of the village.
August Matt, who lives at the property just north of the former Rothman Garage, said the project opens up a “Pandora’s box,” because it could provide a location for people to loiter – or worse – in close proximity to the elementary school. He spoke about the time and money he has spent cleaning up his own property and worried about the impact on his property values.
“How are we going to sell a house [in the future] next to the Family Dollar,” Matt asked.
“This sticks out like a sore thumb in our village,” said Diane Landry. “We don’t need this kind of store … It does not belong in our small little community.”
“Traffic already is a nightmare with the buses in the morning,” said Tricia Hargraves. “I think it’s ridiculous to have it next to the school. Your location is off.”
Others spoke critically about bringing a national chain into the area instead of focusing on local merchants and products.
“I’m not a fan of places that sell a ton of stuff from China and food that’s totally unhealthy,” said Theresa Shepherd of Ferndale Lane.
Throughout the meeting, Muraco responded to questions and concerns from the audience and defended the Family Dollar brand as a “first-class” discount store.
Muraco said about 2,000 square feet of the store would be devoted to refrigerated space for fresh and frozen food products.
“They sell milk, eggs, grocery, breads,” Muraco said. “I think there’s a need for this.”
Ideally, Muraco said, they would have brought a traditional grocery store to the site, but the local independent grocery market is all but gone and none of the grocery chains had an interest.
“We worked every grocery I could possibly find,” Muraco said. “It’s not like we didn’t make a lot of effort to find a grocery.”
Family Dollar would likely have one delivery transport a day, which Louis Muraco said would presumably be in the early morning hours before traffic around the school was an issue.
Matt Napierala, an engineer representing the Muracos, said a traffic study indicated the store would attract about three to four cars per hour at peak morning traffic times. At peak afternoon traffic, which is after the school day has finished, the store would attract about 20 to 25 cars per hour.
Muraco and his team showed a picture of what the Family Dollar would look like – a big box feel with a bright red stripe across the building – which was met with some dismay by village residents. In response, he said he could work with Family Dollar to soften the façade to make it more compatible with the village.
At the end of the meeting, Minoa Planning Board Chairman Dan DeLucia said the board would weigh whether the proposal fit with all the criteria of the village’s commercial zone. While he said he heard and empathized with the concerns of village residents, he also was concerned that turning the development down would “deter future projects in [Minoa].”
The board has 62 days from the public hearing to make a determination on the project.
