Planning Board assumes lead agency for Station Road warehouse expansion; flags parking and staffing discrepancies

The Town of Chester Planning Board agreed to assume lead agency and classify a warehouse expansion at 6½ Station Road as an unlisted SEQR action, advancing environmental review for the proposed additions to an existing 30,000‑square‑foot facility.

Steve Esposito of Engineering Properties described plans for an approximately 8,000‑square‑foot addition on the northeast corner and a smaller 1,800‑square‑foot addition on the south side. "The proposal is for an 8,000 square foot addition sort of on the northeast corner and then a smaller 1,800 square foot addition on the southern corner," Esposito said.

Board members raised several substantive questions: whether the cumulative building area would push the site above a 40,000‑square‑foot threshold that triggers additional variance review; whether the existing parking is consistent with prior approvals and historical plans; and a discrepancy between the number of employees listed in current application paperwork (10) and observations/county health filings that indicated as many as 50 employees at the site. A member said he regularly observed 25–40 cars at peak times and asked the applicant to confirm employee counts with the county records.

After discussion the board voted to assume lead agency for SEQR and to classify the project as an unlisted action to allow coordinated review and follow up with the Zoning Board of Appeals where necessary.

Next steps: the applicant will supply additional parking and employee information, and staff will continue SEQR coordination and advise whether a variance or additional design information is needed before final approvals.