PARIS — Planning Board members on Tuesday approved plans for a new Family Dollar site on Main Street, forgoing a public hearing on the project.
The 8,320-square-foot store is planned for 193 Main St., the site of Shaner’s Family Restaurant.
Mackenzie Simpson, a representative from Tampa, Fla.-based developer Hunt Real Estate, told the board the company thought there would be “minimal site disturbance” at the location.
“We felt this was the best layout given the site we had and it should fit just where Shaner’s is,” he said.
The company intends to resurface the parking lot and update storm-water management measures at the property, improving its present condition, Simpson told the board. Construction is slated to begin in May.
A property easement between Family Dollar and the Norway Branch Railroad Co., will allow delivery trucks access to the building, Simpson said. The Railroad owns 0.6 of an acre in a diagonal stripe from the northwest to the southeast of the building site.
No construction will take place within the easement, Simpson told the board.
He addressed concerns about storm-water runoff and a barrier for trespassing raised by Gene Benner, owner of the neighboring Bessey Motors, in a letter to Hunt and the Planning Board.
Simpson said the storm-water management system would be updated and improved and the company would be willing to work with Benner on a barrier between the two properties.
Hunt Real Estate is working with engineering consultants to put together an erosion control plan and to get its licenses and certifications from state agencies, Simpson said. Those documents must be submitted to the town before the approval is final.
Board members voted to accept the application but not to hold a public hearing on the project, against the wishes of board member Franca Ainsworth.
Ainsworth, noting the landmark status of Shaner’s Family Restaurant, said there were many people in town who may want to speak about the plan and should be given an opportunity to do so.
Board member Michael Risica said there was only one abutter who raised concerns about the project and may need an opportunity to address them at a public hearing.
Benner, who attended the meeting, told the board he was satisfied with Simpson’s answers and did not need an additional hearing.
The motion to hold a public hearing was voted down 3-1, with Ainsworth voting for it.
Jack Shaner, owner of Shaner’s restaurant, told board members he would inform his customers of the sale of the property and the Family Dollar project.
“I know all the customers and you don’t need to worry about me closing the door and not worrying about them,” Shaner said. “The place has always been a lot more than that.”
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