Village Planning Board Tables Specialty Grocery Store Application After Concerns Brought Up

At Wednesday’s Village of Homer Planning Board meeting, the board reviewed an application for a site plan and a change of use of a property located at 6 North West Street. Residents in the area will be familiar with the two-story building at the corner of North West Street (Route 281) and James Street in the Village of Homer.

The application was previously viewed by Cortland County Planning, who did not provide any conditions the Village Planning Board should consider. The property is currently permitted for commercial use; the applicant is asking it to be changed to mercantile to allow a new retail store to open at the address. The property was previously allowed for mercantile use. The proposed business would be a specialty grocery store for imported Mexican/Italian products, and meats.

The applicant for the site plan and change of use was listed in the agenda as Jennah Compagni, who was not present at the meeting. Village Attorney Fran Casullo told the board he looks to address in ensuring applicants for the planning board attend the meeting either in-person or via Zoom to answer questions the board may have.

In addition to the applicant not in attendance to answer questions, the board also expressed concern regarding the short form SEQR with part one not fully completed by the applicant. After a brief discussion on the importance of having the applicant attend the meeting along with highlighting their responsibilities to finishing their part of the SEQR form, the board voted unanimously to table it to their next meeting on Wednesday, April 23rd.

*Feature Image via Google*