Traffic Concerns Stall Zoning Board Hearing on Proposed Caldor Shopping Center on Route 1-July 30, 1980

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A zoning board hearing regarding the proposed $3 million Caldor shopping center on Route 1 was continued to August 19 to give developers time to finalize traffic flow plans. Attorney James Hilliard, representing developers Bronson & Hutensky of Bloomfield, Connecticut, explained that the delay was necessary to negotiate a right-of-way through Park Place Industrial Park to ensure safe vehicle access and egress. Because the section of Route 1 between Sumner Street and Vanderbilt Avenue—situated opposite Furlong’s Cottage Candies and Ice Cream—has been the site of numerous serious accidents involving motorists attempting to cross oncoming traffic, developers needed a temporary solution. Hilliard proposed routing traffic through Park Place to Vanderbilt Avenue, where a new traffic light is to be installed, until a median strip is constructed on Route 1 in three to four years, which will enable safe U-turns at Sumner Street or left turns at a proposed Morse Street extension.

Despite concerns raised by citizens questioning the suitability of the 25-acre industrial site on the easterly side of Route 1, Hilliard defended the project, stating, If the developers did not think it was a good site, they would not go there. They go where people want a shopping center. Unveiled on June 30, the $3 million project is slated to feature Caldor as the anchor store alongside 20 other retail outlets, providing 650 parking spaces to accommodate an estimated 8,000 vehicles daily, with construction expected to take one year.

In other business, the zoning board addressed residential and commercial special permits. In a 2-1 decision, the board denied a request from Edward Runci of 81 Walpole St. to convert his single-family home into a two-family dwelling. Chairman Joseph Randall and board member Philip W. Riley voted against the request out of concern that it would set a precedent in a solid single-family zone, with Riley noting, If such a break is done, it should be a question for rezoning by town meeting, while board member John J. DiSangro cast the lone dissenting vote in favor. Additionally, the board held a public hearing on a petition by the administrators of the estate of William Lovell for a special permit to convert the property at 24 Walpole St. into medical or dental offices, noting zero opposition and three supporting neighbors before scheduling a site visit for Saturday morning.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger