[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6566410,"mediaKeyId","3204431-ef2f255f3b644c6aa6cdf850591ce8ea","parentId",3204431,"title","Chobani 1.8M-sq-ft plant presentation tabled; board requests further documentation","audioSeconds",2103,"startMs",1993000,"endMs",4096000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3204431-ef2f255f3b644c6aa6cdf850591ce8ea&start=1993&end=4096","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3204431-ef2f255f3b644c6aa6cdf850591ce8ea/thumbnail_1993000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6566410/Rome/Oneida-County/New-York/Chobani-18M-sq-ft-plant-presentation-tabled-board-requests-further-documentation","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6566410-21253ec6c2e47ae3124cd754eb928f1d/orig.mp4?Expires=1771000397&Signature=Jg2cuuA-9BfdKWGsIpQkX2f9pjZ1egu2RtiB6GTbOMvYYewtF8qElKfd4xIGKZMpjmPNFAMBB-gCscVjfMIBc1HeQmsosQYaMFxmY0cQ2tuHpm1HOBhETCFV0S5ZVidFg5XQqdD02~bkOzDsEaRoX9xnybTYAMKYUj7m1IzwAuzikwZhZ41s32ORMHDiNBVsQmTfMvYmkK67ZjE6PD3qOldEiGu7xEQEZr85uGpvGxX0kov9lferRp5GOezKHoh~BC~kwns5Tznmw49uJjxe9tRVaOWGwWLBjon6qWzmU0b1LXxZmuMzVtDAXV9D41D5AvF9ohYxRAwMB4D3NaGHxQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Rome, NY","date","2025-05-07T12:07:58Z","article","The City of Rome Planning Board on May 6 heard a detailed preliminary presentation from Chobani and its consultants on a proposed roughly 1,800,000-square-foot dairy processing plant on the Triangle parcel (Perimeter Road) but voted to table formal site-plan action until the project team returns with additional documentation and coordination results, including formal zoning action and FAA release steps.

Why it matters: The project would be a large industrial facility with regional supply-chain and employment implications; the site currently sits within former airport/property that requires FAA release and zoning adjustments before non-aeronautical uses can proceed.

Kevin McAuliffe, an attorney for the project team, said Chobani will lease the site from the county and that moving forward depends on FAA processes to release the Triangle parcel for non-aviation use. “All of this, of course, is dependent upon the completion of the release process that the county has been working on for several years now with the FAA,” McAuliffe said. Amanda Cortes Colas, Oneida County attorney, said the county has submitted the documentation and a full NEPA/SEQR review to the FAA and is “kind of at the finish line,” but that the FAA will not issue the release until zoning that allows the non-aeronautical use is in place.

Jeff Allman, senior vice president of engineering for Chobani, described the facility as state-of-the-art and said construction could require up to about 1,500 tradespeople at peak. Rod Ives, the civil site engineer, outlined road access, four driveways off the county-constructed Perimeter Road, a 950-space parking lot (with a small phase-2 lot planned), on-site pretreatment for wastewater, stormwater infiltration design to the 1.1-inch standard, and gating/security arrangements to separate truck circulation from employee parking.

Board members and staff raised operational and safety questions, including truck turning radii for large-truck access, sidewalk and bus access, site lighting, signage, site phasing and building heights. The project team said they would extend sidewalks to the parking lot, provide a pedestrian way through the lot, design stormwater controls to the updated 1.1-inch stormwater standard, and prepare additional sign and lighting plans for future submissions.

The board voted unanimously to table the item and requested the applicant return at the June meeting with updated materials and confirmation of outstanding regulatory steps, including the zoning amendment and documentation requested by FAA/county staff.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","5/6/2025 Planning Board Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","The Planning Board received a preliminary presentation for a proposed 1,800,000-square-foot Chobani dairy processing plant on Perimeter Road and voted unanimously to table the site-plan action pending additional documentation, FAA release progress and continued coordination with county and city staff.","taxTitle","Rome, Oneida County, New York","taxId",54217,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6566415,"Planning board recommends rezoning and bicycle-parking change for Griffith Business Park",360,1632000,1992000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3204431-ef2f255f3b644c6aa6cdf850591ce8ea&start=1632&end=1992","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3204431-ef2f255f3b644c6aa6cdf850591ce8ea/thumbnail_1632000.jpg","/articles/6566415/Rome/Oneida-County/New-York/Planning-board-recommends-rezoning-and-bicycle-parking-change-for-Griffith-Business-Park","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6566415-ef12d671bf3ba8e34fc4d0a0295bce1e/orig.mp4?Expires=1771000397&Signature=NQ0RslYwfWi~mDdV~qx2ehwmg35WGMISGHS7~w-ickzIvZ6zeGZ2vOLFygJ-WOez0i207JYBwfG-vCsdiJ5ysFtUSDn2CNT9Chls1cOrxj5mjFXoVqyAlSYmfngxcnwvYBXuYE0C7m0LMMhuF3zhPlFSWZKTm61OmTaZDKNHT~Br-qsrEtEncwVIZbyXRwHqNgV-NRE6LMmOnhA1xLJcrqJeg-Y2unrC6iKjYFyS9QOymiOgb18HjUOE~QZjfgpMgksvQ8wMsFoQRwaBVY3O6ZX4po4IzVtFBku9ViACAU6PYNdlrD9loD9Jz4Bhi9XP87~9GLBNbmXMWerdGNAFig__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The City of Rome Planning Board on May 6 unanimously recommended that the Common Council approve a local zoning amendment (Ordinance 9787) to reclassify roughly 200 acres from an Airfield district to the Griffith Business Park Flex Industrial District and to amend the bicycle-parking table to require one bicycle space per 20 employees for industrial general uses.

Matt Andrews of the Department of Community and Economic Development presented the ordinance on behalf of Mayor Lanigan and First Ward Councilor Sparece. Andrews said the change responds to a request from County Executive Vicente and supports the Triangle redevelopment plan; the County Board of Legislators previously issued a SEQR negative declaration on the broader redevelopment and environmental analysis.

Why it matters: The rezoning attaches allowable uses to a parcel previously designated “Airfield” and aligns zoning with anticipated industrial users. The board also adjusted bicycle-parking requirements to an employee-based metric rather than the prior square-footage metric, a change that substantially reduces the required bicycle spaces for very large facilities.

Andrews said the proposed change would substitute a parking standard based on employees: “Based on an employee highest shift employee, calculation with 1 space for 20 employees… this particular project would yield a required minimum of 15 bike parking spaces,” he said, contrasting that with the much larger number that the existing square-footage method could require for a million-plus-square-foot facility.

Oneida County planning staff provided a recommendation of approval to the city, and the county board had issued its SEQR negative declaration on April 9, 2025, which the city will rely on for environmental review of the zoning amendment.

The planning board voted unanimously to recommend that the Common Council approve the map amendment and the table/language modification to the bicycle-parking requirement as presented.

What’s next: The recommendation will be forwarded to the Rome Common Council for final action.

","The board recommended that the Common Council approve Ordinance 9787 to rezoning about 200+ acres from 'Airfield' to 'Griffith Business Park Flex Industrial' and to change the industrial bicycle-parking standard from a floor-area basis to one space per 20 employees.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6566419,"Rome planning board OKs VarFlex warehouse expansion with pedestrian, lot conditions",1100,463000,1563000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3204431-ef2f255f3b644c6aa6cdf850591ce8ea&start=463&end=1563","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3204431-ef2f255f3b644c6aa6cdf850591ce8ea/thumbnail_463000.jpg","/articles/6566419/Rome/Oneida-County/New-York/Rome-planning-board-OKs-VarFlex-warehouse-expansion-with-pedestrian-lot-conditions","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6566419-f49a954b61b12f98f1d29de3222556b8/orig.mp4?Expires=1771000397&Signature=EiV-UNchn--BXKPPax0NTg4ntaG8dAwjmRtREuJoxzzRYUtvpNTzTovdVj8~AqI9F7w90Ha5R-emUzB0nHnoSOILFJCu87dpucJ9nKEfUQ9PGozYcPQdErDhasCxSl18ZcWngmmDxeOP9b3fuNhXWutV-212UKFVH3QF7zH9nzn9cRLvCoKAyZqPxtHa7LnxaOP4yzeJn7JBnJsn5Jyl9UhgJ3AVg6D0PcFQP3o8G242phRU5O3t4qgvu6ckc69RaL4YL-zndGz4p4gza9AQBvVfDGb6FqBSKVy4I8-YX2AK8VKEiuSqDj6pIBVoZu~4OyTD7ApqQKzXqYp~X-DLmQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The City of Rome Planning Board on May 6 recommended a State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) negative declaration and approved the site plan for a roughly 4,400-square-foot expansion to an existing warehouse occupied by VarFlex at 511 Court Street, subject to conditions requiring parking striping, an administrative lot merger and sidewalk work.

The board approved the SEQR negative declaration unanimously and then approved the site plan with conditions 1 and 3 from the Community and Economic Development comments. Community and Economic Development staff had recommended the negative declaration and listed several conditions to address pedestrian safety and shoreline risks along Wood Creek.

Why it matters: The expansion triggers environmental review because it exceeds 4,000 square feet. Board members and staff focused on mitigating pedestrian risks created by a longstanding, 113-foot curb cut and by parking that currently abuts Wood Creek.

Paul Schlag, the applicant's representative, described the project as “just a simple addition to an existing building that they put up in ’97,” and said no additional parking would be needed because VarFlex uses a separate employee lot. Community and Economic Development staff noted the site’s existing 113-foot curb cut substantially exceeds the 24-foot maximum width under current code and recommended narrowing or other safety measures.

Technical and safety conditions required by staff include: amending the site plan to show parking striping meeting zoning-code requirements; installing wheel stops, curbs, railings or similar devices for any parking facing Wood Creek to prevent vehicles from rolling onto the bank; narrowing the primary Court Street driveway to a maximum of 30 feet (the board did not include this narrowing condition in its approval); and completing an administrative subdivision to merge multiple existing lots into one parcel prior to occupancy.

Contractor Tim Hogan, who developed the plans for VarFlex, told the board that tractor-trailers have used the opening for about 20 years and that reducing the driveway to 30 feet could affect truck turning without additional data. “Reduction of 30 foot may impact their particular driving,” Hogan said, adding he could supply turning-radius drawings if the board wanted to calibrate a standard tied to DOT tractor-trailer requirements.

Board members pressed for concrete pedestrian protections. Garrett Wyckoff of Community and Economic Development emphasized the pedestrian-safety benefits of reducing the curb cut width and showing a continuous sidewalk. The board attached conditions that require striping of all on-site parking per the zoning code and continuation of the sidewalk from the existing segment along Court/J Street to the project frontage; the board explicitly excluded the staff recommendation to narrow the curb cut to 30 feet.

The board recorded unanimous votes for both the SEQR negative declaration and the conditional site plan approval.

What’s next: The applicant must amend the site plan to show required striping, incorporate wheel stops or similar devices where parking abuts Wood Creek, and complete an administrative lot merger before receiving significant occupancy. The building permit and any further site-plan submissions will be reviewed by city staff under the conditions set by the board.

","The City of Rome Planning Board recommended a SEQR negative declaration and approved site plans for a roughly 4,400 sq. ft. expansion to an existing VarFlex warehouse at 511 Court Street, imposing conditions on parking striping, lot merger and sidewalk continuation to address pedestrian safety and creek-edge risks.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Chobani 1.8M-sq-ft plant presentation tabled; board requests further documentation

Planning board recommends rezoning and bicycle-parking change for Griffith Business Park

Rome planning board OKs VarFlex warehouse expansion with pedestrian, lot conditions