Photo by Joanne Beck
Although the city’s Planning & Development Committee recommended Tuesday that Christian Brunelle return in February with details and a site plan for a Byrne Dairy & Deli at 606 E. Main St., Batavia, committee members walked away pleased with his 35-minute presentation at City Hall.
Brunelle, senior executive vice president of Sonbyrne Sales, Inc., reviewed loose plans for a gated store that would be moved back from houses, include landscaping and trees, a Dumpster enclosure, two unrestricted curb cuts, one each a canopied gas and diesel station, sidewalks leading to the store porch, three signs, including a digital reading board, and outdoor lights designed to minimize unwanted light pollution.
“We use 100% Dark Sky, which is the most stringent light … why do I do that? It’s so expensive but well worth it. We go above and beyond the idea of this every meeting, because usually I’m used to much tighter residences,” Brunelle said. “We give you kind of a funnel image from an engineer. I’m gonna send this to the lighting engineer down south. He will send something back.”
He ran through his talk well rehearsed and knowledgable, quickly answering questions without a waver. Six-foot tall evergreens, per city code, would meet the code requirement as a sufficient buffer, and they are also considering replacing some trees and adding red maples, he said. The set-up doesn’t require pedestrians to cross the gas station area, so that “no one has to cross the driveway,” he said.
The applicant has requested a variance because there is less than 500 feet between the store and Whole Life Fitness, a gym at 624 E. Main St. Committee Chairman Duane Preston asked about options.
“Would you be opposed to a fence?” he said, surmising that maybe the neighbors would appreciate some visual separation.
Brunelle had no problem with that, or a row of trees, he said. “You guys tell me what you want,” he said.
Code Enforcement Officer Douglas Randall suggested that either a row of trees or bushes would be a good idea for catching debris from the dairy to the gym.
Preston also asked if there’s a plan to install electric vehicle pumps. There is no such plan now, Brunelle said, however, when and if there’s a need in the future, those could be added.
“If there’s a need for those in three or four years, we have enough room,” he said.
What about a generator on site?
While there wouldn’t be one at the store permanently, there are two — a 125 KW and 100 KW — in a warehouse not far away, he said.
“It can be brought here in one and a half hours,” he said.
Committee member Jim Krencik asked how much of the property would not be paved. Six feet that then goes back 15 to 20 feet would remain unpaved, Brunelle said.
Brunelle said the company has already conducted a survey and is ready for the next steps with a targeted spring construction, likely to begin in April if the approval process goes well.
Since the property is along state Route 5, he has already sent plans to the New York State Department of Transportation for review, he said.
“It’s a very nice proposal, very amenable,” Committee member John Ognibene said.
The plan was impressive, Preston said. Brunelle may not need to go to the Zoning Board of Appeals if he addresses variance issues for the size of signs and space between properties in the final site plan, Preston said.
“I’m very pleased with it; definitely very happy. It's a quality-driven product. I’m very glad the east end of the town, the city, got a nice plan. We've got a nice gas station,” he said after the meeting. “It’s looking like there are a lot of bright things for this year. We’ve got Burger King finishing up. We’ve got the new Byrne Dairy. It just seems like more opportunities are opening up, which is good.”
As for that town project that was put on hold by concerns from the county Planning Board, it won’t matter any more. Brunelle said he’s pulling a potential Byrne Dairy on Lewiston Road in the town of Batavia off the table.
He is looking forward to pursuing this venture on East Main Street to add to the 77 stores he manages, he said.
“We've opened a bunch of stores in Monroe County. We have one in Brockport for this to the west and we want to go further west, and originally, the other site over there came up, and we've been looking to Batavia for several years now, and we noticed this site right away,” he said. “It was vacant for several years, and we've been working on getting under contract for a while. It's under contract contingent upon approvals. If we get approval from the city in February, from both boards, we'll close on our property within 30 days, and we'll start construction probably within 30 days after.”
The site plan will also have to go to the county Planning Board for review. Brunelle said there will be 25 full-time equivalent employees at the store, with 35 to 40 combined part- and full-time people.
“It’s a several million dollar project,” he said.
He is to return to city planners Feb. 18.
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