Planning board approves landscaping to screen Erie County Water Authority hotbox for Chase Bank at Transit Road

The Town of Cheektowaga Planning Board approved landscaping screening for a 3-foot by 3-foot Erie County Water Authority hotbox tied to the Chase Bank project in the Wegmans shopping plaza near Transit Road and Lawson Road.

Matt Cheka of Stonefield Engineering and Design, representing applicant JPMorgan Chase, said the site previously received site-plan approval from the Town Board for a 3,300-square-foot Chase Bank with a drive-through. Because of building layout changes, the project needed to relocate the backflow prevention meters and a hotbox to the exterior; Erie County Water Authority requires a hotbox when devices are external to a building. Cheka said the hotbox will sit in an existing landscaped area, measure 3 feet by 3 feet by 3 feet, and be screened with six evergreen shrubs. "The hotbox is only... 3 feet wide, 3 feet long, 3 feet high, and we're proposing 6 evergreen shrubs around the hot box itself," Cheka said.

Board members asked whether the small box would impede traffic or emergency access; Cheka said it would not. The board voted by voice to approve the proposed screening, and the motion carried.

Cheka said the overall site landscaping is substantial, including roughly 10 larger trees (four flowering, four deciduous) and about 100–200 shrubs and groundcover across the site. The board recorded the approval of the screening plan; the hotbox location remains subject to Erie County Water Authority requirements and final construction approvals.