Newark Zoning approves new store

Monday afternoon, the Newark Zoning Board of Appeals approved plans by AutoZone Inc. to construct a retail store. The new store will be located in a B-3 Highway Business District in a Wal-Mart outparcel on Rt. 31 East.

Several variances were sought by the developer, including lot area, lot frontage, lot depth, and side yard setback. Richard Mayberry, an attorney representing AutoZone, referred to the requests as not being substantial. The zoning board agreed, and granted the variances.

According to the developer, AutoZone is the largest retailer of auto replacement parts in the country, and presently has has over 3300 stores. The proposed facility will be a single-story building, 7,334 sq.ft. in size. It is planned that 15 to 20 local people will be employed at the store.

Donald DePauw, 202 South Main St., appeared before the board to re-apply for a use variance to allow second-story apartments in a commercial buildng. DePauw had gone to a great deal of effort to demonstrate hardship in his proposal to convert the upstairs of his building to two apartments. According to DePauw, efforts to rent the second story to commercial tenants had been unsuccessful.

Members of the board were required to consider not only hardship, but the fact that the building was landlocked and had no greenspace. Another concern by some board members was the danger of setting a precendence, as there are other buildings in downtown Newark that are similar.

A motion was made by board member Tim McCusker to grant the variance based on what had been heard. The motion however, failed to carry and the variance was denied.

T.J. Marshall of Marshall Family Associates of Weedsport, NY, addressed the board asking for a special permit to replace a sign at the Pit Stop Convenience store at 608 East Union St.

Marshall was granted a special permit to replace a 92-square-foot sign with a 99-square-foot sign after he testified that the signs only come in standard sizes. The board voted unanimously to approve the request.

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