Hekemian Hearing Nears a Close With Final Witnesses Testifying

After over 30 regular and special meetings before the Zoning Board of Adjustment, the hearings for the proposed development of the 13-acre United Water property is nearing a close. Development attorney Andy DelVecchio called two of his three final experts last week and is expected to conclude his presentation on April 9.

The proposed mixed-use development includes a 70,500 sq. ft. supermarket, a 4300 sq. ft. bank and a significantly pared down housing component--24 units down from an original 221 units.

"I'm getting close to concluding direct presentation for the application," DelVecchio said. At the last Zoning Board meeting, he called forth supermarket architect Thomas Ashbahin and engineering expert Michael Dipple.

According to Ashbahin, the supermarket would have four different elevations although the predominate height of the building would be 24-feet, measured from the grade level to the highest point of the roof. The rear of the building by the locking dock is four-feet higher due to the lower eleveation in the back.

"There would be brick on three sides of the building with the loading docks fronting onto Madison Avenue," Ashbahin said. The front of the building would face River Road with the sides facing Main Street and Cucchino Drive. 

Ashbahin added that the mechanical equipment on the roof would not be visible from the street level with the cooling fans for the interior refrigeration measuring three to four feet high. Additional equipment would measure eight to 10 feet high adn be placed in the middle of the roof. 

Dipple was recalled to provide updated information on three specific areas: sewer capacity for the sanitary sewer pipes, the exact number of trees to be removed on River Road and the recalculated height of the residential roofline.

"We installed a flow meter on March 14 to determine if the pipes could handle the added residential and commercial sewer flow," Dipple said. "The pipe is a 16-inch concrete sanitery sewer that based on the data we've received back so far flows between six and nine inches deep throughout the day. We will continue monitoring the flow for the next two weeks, but there is plenty of capacity to handle the site requirements."

He added that eight of the 11 trees along River Road would be removed to allow for a widening of the roadway. However, the project would include replacing all of the eight trees with the hybrid London Plane.

In his final statement of the evening, Dipple stated that the residential building would have a maximum building height of 44 feet over the previously provided height of 37-feet and two inches.

The April 9 Zoning Board of Adjustment will be solely dedicated to the United Water project with DelVecchio concluding his presentation with planner Peter Steck. That meeting will begin at 7pm.

At that time, members of SOD will be able to bring forth any professionals they may have hired and the Zoning Board will call forth their traffic engineer, borough engineer, planner and appraiser afterwards.

A special meeting is also scheduled for April 18, 7-10pm for the continued examination of the Board's professionals.

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