Study Says Fresh Market Would Not Cause A Significant Impact On The Environment Or Traffic

Southampton Village may be one step closer to having a Fresh Market grocery store at the intersection of Hampton and Flying Point roads, within sight of the busy merge of Montauk Highway and County Road 39.

A study by Nelson, Pope and Voorhis, an engineering consultant firm hired by Southampton Village, found that a change in the zoning code to allow supermarkets on certain parcels in the highway business district on a special permit basis would not cause a significant impact to the environment or to traffic, locally or regionally.

The study was the last piece village officials needed to complete before putting legislation enacting the zoning code change before the Village Board.

If the board approves the new law, members of the Glennon family, who own a 68,950-square-foot property in the village’s eastern corner and are hoping to build and lease to Fresh Market, could apply to do so. According to the firm, the Glennon property could accommodate a 17,233-square-foot supermarket. The proposed law, if approved, would require individual applicants to provide their own studies and go through the various village regulatory boards to get approval.

The Village Board has broad power to deny a special exception application if granting it would be contrary to public health, safety or welfare.

The Nelson, Pope and Voorhis analysis looked at seven sites along County Road 39 and Flying Point Road, with a minimum lot size of 60,000 square feet, or 1.38 acres, in order to assess potential adverse environmental impacts and their magnitude.

The Village Board first introduced legislation to change the zoning code to allow for supermarkets in the business district last October. A month later, it was revealed that the Glennon family had already signed a deal with Fresh Market to build a grocery store on the property at 630 Hampton Road, a former automobile dealership, and that the legislation was prompted by the Glennons reaching out to village officials with a desire to build the supermarket.

According to the analysis, the seven parcels in the study lack “environmental sensitivity” that would warrant further study. For instance, the areas are flat, the soil is well-drained, there are no wetlands near any of the parcels, and all parcels are served by public water and public utilities.

A July 2009 State Department of Transportation volume count determined that the average daily traffic for the portion of County Road 39 between David White’s Lane and Hampton Road is 22,600 vehicles per day. The study acknowledges that County Road 39 is an arterial highway but estimates that a supermarket would result in significantly less traffic during Saturday peak hours than a drive-in restaurant.

The Glennon property, if transformed into a Fresh Market, may warrant construction of a center turning lane on Hampton Road to allow left turns onto the site, according to Nelson, Pope and Voorhis. And although traffic may not be as voluminous as a drive-in restaurant, like a McDonald’s, for example, traffic would increase.

“The site has access for traffic to and from all directions, although some movements will require adding traffic volume to the signal-controlled intersection,” the study concluded.

Southampton Village Mayor Mark Epley said that a public hearing on the proposed zoning amendment would close to public comment on Thursday, September 13, during a board meeting. He said the board would either make a decision that night or at future meeting, with the advice of Village Attorney Richard DePetris.

“I think this is a good thing and a good use of the property,” Mayor Epley said of the Glennon parcel. “There are parts of County Road 39 in the town and the village that are not good uses for supermarkets, but that’s why the special permit process is important to go through. That way the boards can look at opportunities here and decide if that’s the right thing or wrong thing for the area.”

The study also compared the different land uses, maximum yields for water use, sanitary flow, solid waste and parking requirements for other uses in the highway business district, including medical arts, offices, restaurants, drive-in restaurants and banks—all of which are permitted under current zoning. According to the analysis, supermarket water and sanitary use would be significantly lower than other uses, and solid waste estimates indicate that a supermarket would generate more than office and restaurant uses, but less than a drive-in restaurant. A 20,000-square-foot supermarket would require more parking spaces than medical arts, restaurant and drive-in restaurant uses, but would require fewer parking spots than an office or bank, the study said.