No. Castle Approves Armonk CVS Permit; Opponents Likely to Sue
The North Castle Town Board narrowly approved a special use permit Wednesday night to allow CVS to move into the Armonk Shopping Center.
After an emotional and at times tense public hearing at town hall that lasted more than three hours, the board’s 3-2 vote paves the way for the chain pharmacy to take over the space vacated by A&P in February.
The majority faction of Supervisor Howard Arden and council members Diane DiDonato-Roth and John Cronin voted in favor of the permit while councilmen Michael Schiliro and Stephen D’Angelo opposed the application. Granting of the permit came after rapid-fire decisions by two other boards this week. On Monday night the planning board issued a negative declaration by concluding the store would have no significant adverse impact on the community and earlier Wednesday evening the Architectural Review Board approved the store’s exterior design.
Loss of the A&P and the pending arrival of CVS has been one of the hot-button issues in Armonk since the shopping center’s landlord, Werber Management, informed North Castle officials in April 2011 that it was entering into a 25-year lease with CVS. For several years, Werber Management had tried to expand and modernize the A&P but became frustrated after failing to meet various demands from town officials.
Despite the outcry that CVS would imperil the downtown’s independent storeowners and invite other national chains into Armonk, Arden said the hamlet and the downtown would continue to prosper because it has many outstanding qualities to offer. But after the planning board, which acted as lead agency on the project, issued its negative declaration two nights earlier, the town board had no justification to reject CVS.
“We have no legal grounds to deny this application,” he said.
However, the attorney representing the Concerned Citizens of Armonk, a group that has fought to prevent CVS from moving in, said there is the strong likelihood of a lawsuit. Jeffrey Baker said the planning board made its decision using information that was fraught with errors, including an economic report stating that the A&P operated a pharmacy and that the storefront had been empty on a long-term basis.
“There’s a good chance there will be a lawsuit based on an arbitrary and capricious determination that failed to consider our expert report and in-depth analysis,” Baker said.
The group has 30 days from the time the approved resolution is filed with the town clerk’s office to launch a suit, he said.
Most of the speakers made impassioned pleas to the board, arguing that CVS would not only hurt downtown businesses but would alter the hamlet’s character. CVS opponents said that as many as a dozen independent merchants sell items that would be carried by the chain store.
“If you do put the businesses out of business, future businesses may be saying to themselves ‘Do I really want to come into Armonk?'” said resident Jay Rubloff.
Judy Wilsey, owner of Framings on Main Street, told the board that every lost sale for a small business owner hurts in this economy, which can put business owners in jeopardy. Also, with CVS being an out-of-state corporation, there is little chance they would contribute to community causes as many local business owners do.
“We have a chance to stand up here and protect us from this horrible corporation that clearly does not have your best interest in mind,” Wilsey said.
Highlighting the emotion of the meeting, Wilsey blurted out in frustration “We won’t forget this, you know” seconds after the votes were cast.
In opposing the application, Schiliro said that he wasn’t satisfied the applicant met all of the criteria for the permit. He said the size of the store, roughly 20,000 square feet, including more than 2,900 square feet for a separate retail space, would have significant impact because of its size and intensity of use.
But DiDonato-Roth said officials could not pick and choose who they wanted to fill store vacancies as long as applicants met the town’s criteria. The store did not need planning board site plan approval because it was using the same footprint and CVS is not considered a change of use.
“It’s up to the owner of the building who he wants as a tenant,” DiDonato-Roth said.
She also ignored calls from Concerned Citizens to recuse herself from the vote. In 2001, DiDonato-Roth, a realtor for nearly 20 years, had found a commercial tenant for a store at a Werber-owned property in North Castle.
Concerned Citizens president and Town Center Pharmacy owner Charlene Jacobi, whose business may be the most affected by CVS’ arrival, declined to comment following the vote.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
