Lots & More Gets Its Way, But Neighbors Have A Say

In a heated, emotional exchange outside council town council chambers at Vernon Town Hall Thursday night, residents whose properties abut the Lots and More store on Windsor Avenue vowed to watch the every move of store owner Bill Valvo.

The argument ensued after the Planning & Zoning Commission voted to approve a special exception permit that now allows Valvo to make some changes on his property — something the residents have vehemently argued against for more than a year.

According to the application, Valvo wants to display garden and hardware retail products outside, occupying an area greater than 10 percent of the gross floor area of the business.

Valvo has been seeking approval from the commission to make the changes for some time, but the neighbors have protested, claiming that the noise, view and, sometimes, odor coming from the store’s property are offensive and that they have seen no improvement or effort on Valvo’s part to appease the neighbors’ concerns.

A previous application was denied in November last year.

Valvo’s lawyer, Leonard Jacobs, presented a new plan that, he said, addresses “virtually everything” that was stated as a concern in a recent letter from one of the neighbors.

Jacobs also said that he attempted to contact all the neighbors in writing to set up a time to meet, discuss the problems, and come up with solutions, but he received no responses. At least two of the letters came back to him with "return to sender" designations, he said.

One resident who recently wrote a letter to the commission, said she did receive the letter Jacobs sent, but chose not to respond when her other neighbors said that they had not received letters. When asked why she did not send a reply, she said she felt uncomfortable speaking for the other neighbors without them present.

One neighbor of the store spoke to the commission Thursday night about all the problems that she and her other neighbors have had with the neighboring business over the past couple years. She said they are unhappy with the wooden pallets and mulch piled high next to their property lines, as well as the noise associated with moving the many materials located around the property, particularly in the evening hours — among other concerns.

In his rebuttal, Jacobs said that Lots and More’s new business plan addresses those concerns. Jacobs presented this new plan at the start of the meeting, outlining the many changes to the property and to storage practices on the outside of the building.

“We have to do our best for out business, but also for our neighbors,” Jacobs said. “We are going to attempt to compromise tonight.”

The neighbors to the east and south are commercial properties, said Jacobs. But it’s the neighbors to the west and north, both residential properties, that have had the biggest concerns.

Among the many changes to the site plan, Jacobs proposed that Valvo reduce the number of large storage containers to one, and move it to the north border of the property. Valvo also agreed to no longer sell the open, unpackaged mulch, and disassemble the cement container that held it. The neighbors to the west had complained about the material potentially seeping into the ground water, and subsequently into their wells and an underground aquifer. All mulch sold at the store will now be prepackaged and sold inside the building.

And since a small bucket loader was only used to move the mulch, which will no longer be sold outside, noise from that machine will be significantly reduced because use will be minimal.

Additionally, Valvo will install 40, 8-foot evergreen trees along the neighbors’ property lines. He had previously installed two 6-foot fences, which will remain intact.

A neighbor to the north complained about pallets that were stored on their property. There will now be a restriction on what can be be stored on that side of the property. The pallets will be moved to the south and will be stacked no higher than 6 feet.

Fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals will no longer be sold outside. Deliveries will only be made before 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and not at all on Sundays. The only previously stated concern that was not addressed, said Jacobs, was lighting around the property.

Jacobs said he hoped that all the changes would satisfy the neighbors and the commission.

“It’s taken a while to get to this point,” he said. “My clients have been trying to do this right. I hope people will appreciate the changes that were made … and that we can all shake hands and walk away. If the neighbors don’t agree, I think the commission can see we’ve made a meaningful compromise.”

The neighbors did not agree. One said that while she was happy about the changes with the mulch situation, overall she was not satisfied and doubted whether Valvo or the town would enforce the changes.

Before the commission’s vote, she said, “I respectfully ask that the application be denied. I am not satisfied with the guarantees.”

Before voting unanimously to approve the application, the commission requested that the new plan be placed in town records so it can be enforced. In the end the commission decided that the plan satisfied he requirements of the special exception permit.

When asked if they would appeal the decision, the small group of neighbors simply said, “No comment.”