Costco Files an Application to Enter Guilford

Whether or not you're a fan of Costco, the company has moved forward in its plans to build a discount club on top of the Rockpile by filing an application for a change to the existing zoning text last week.

Costco Wholesale Corporation and Developers Diversified Realty (DDR) Guilford, LLC, submitted an application for a zoning text amendment to the chairman, Raymond Bower, and members of the town's Planning & Zoning Commission (PZC).

The application asks that the PZC amend the existing Service Center West (SCW) zone to allow for a members-only discount club that would include one building at 150,000 square feet and a separate gas station. The existing SCW code, which only applies to the Rockpile location and no other location in town, presently allows for individual retail tenants to 25,000 square feet or up to 40,000 square feet with a special permit.

In the application, Thomas Cody, attorney for Costco Wholesale Corporation, states that the overall building size of a discount club would not be any larger than what is already allowed in the district for a multi-tenant, retail-shopping center.

"The text amendment would be limited in scope, in that it would apply only to the SCW zone district and not to any other zone districts in Guilford," states Cody. "We believe that the proposal is consistent with the Guilford Plan of Conservation & Development, the overall scheme of the Guilford Zoning Regulations and Zoning Map, and the character of the property in the district and its surroundings. Moreover, the commission would still have a full review of any site plan application for a specific project, including the design review process."

At press time, the PZC had a meeting scheduled for Aug. 18. Bower anticipated at the meeting that Costco's application will be received and that he and his commission members will discuss the procedure on how to move forward, including future public hearing dates. A tentative date for the start of the public hearings is Wednesday, Sept. 15, said Bower.

The property at 1919 Boston Post Road is owned by DDR, which spent the better part of 2008 in front of the PZC and the town's Inland Wetlands Commission proposing its ideas for a

$37 million, 150,000-square-foot retail center comprising a series of individual tenant stores such as Ann Taylor Loft and Chico's.

Town officials expected the high-end retail development to generate a relatively larger tax revenue than standard or low- end retail as store inventory is not taxable, but items like fixtures and displays are. Due to the economic recession, all work at the site came to a screeching halt in early 2009.

Costco, the membership club known for its low prices on bulk products, plans to take over the halted retail spot. Costco and DDR have partnered in the past.

In its application, Costco further describes its business as being a discount store or warehouse at which shoppers pay a membership fee to purchase a variety of goods and services such as food, clothing, dry goods, health and beauty products, and appliances; many items are sold in large quantities or in bulk.

Costco states that other goods and services offered for sale may include tire sales and installation, photo processing and printing services, prescription drugs, eyeglasses and eye care products and related diagnostic services, hearing aids and related diagnostic services, food preparation and sale principally for the convenience of members, and similar items. The number of different items that may be offered for sale in a single discount club, expressed as stock keeping units (SKUs), shall not exceed 5,000.

Costco also states its plans for a separate gasoline station proposed on the Rockpile site with the following limitations, including that the number of fuel pumps shall not exceed 12 and the facility shall be manned by an attendant at all times. Others include that all underground fuel-storage tanks and piping shall be corrosion-proof and double-walled with continuous electronic leak-detection monitoring; all paved surfaces in the fueling area shall be connected to a stormwater drainage system that directs stormwater drainage to an oil-water separator before being discharged from the property; all fuel pumps shall include vapor-recovery systems; and no convenience store or other retail establishment shall be located at the gasoline facility.

If PZC approves the zone text change, Costco will then proceed with a site plan application with the town's Inland Wetlands Commission followed by a site plan application with the PZC.

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