Town Officials Still To Decide If Whole Foods Can Open Saturday

CHAPPAQUA, NY — Last-minute problems put the kibosh on the scheduled Dec. 12 grand opening of Whole Foods. Now it's possible that the upscale supermarket may open Saturday, but New Castle town officials haven't signed off on it yet.

The trouble as usual had to do with traffic and safety, concerns that opponents of the Chappaqua Crossing development have been expressing for more than 10 years. And some members of the town and planning boards still think the project is being rushed. Developer Summit Greenfield wasn't able to get all the traffic improvements done before asphalt plants closed for the winter and asked for a revised traffic plan and a temporary certificate of occupancy. Then some board members expressed concern that the temporary turn lanes on Route 117 might cause head-on collisions.

A meeting Tuesday of the town and planning boards brought majority agreement on a revised Maintenance and Protection of Traffic plan, the Examiner News reported.

That would allow Whole Foods to open before the asphalt plants reopen in the spring. But to get there, developer Summit/Greenfield must complete a long list of improvements around the Roaring Brook Road intersection with Route 117 and Horace Greeley High School before Friday.

"The majority of the Town Board & Planning Board agreed to an opening this Saturday provided Summit Greenfield meets all of the phase I conditions stipulated by the revised MPT plan, as set forth by the Town," town Supervisor Rob Greenstein told Patch. "Formal resolutions still need to be prepared & voted on later this week. We also mandated a few more safety measures - like a barrier for people exiting the bus & kids walking to the high school - that must be instituted this week. We have consulted with our traffic consultant, police department, representatives of the highway department, Town Fire Marshall, building dept, as well as our first responders, to ensure that all safety concerns are addressed."

Summit/Greenfield issued this statement: “We are working in full cooperation with town officials to complete traffic and related pedestrian safety measures at the Roaring Brook Road-Bedford Road intersection that will allow the retail area to open as expeditiously as possible.”

The Examiner reported that the Town Board will meet at 4 p.m. on Thursday and the Planning Board will meet at 2:30 p.m. Friday.

But even if both boards OK the deal, the town's building inspector could still stop it by deciding not to issue the Temporary Certificate of Occupancy for the supermarket and a Chase bank branch, the Examiner reported.

Read the complete article in the Examiner.