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Board issues negative SEQRA determination for 1101 Main Street fitness club; parking, security and staffing probed
Summary
The board issued a negative SEQRA determination for the proposed Anytime Fitness at 1101 Main Street, referring zoning amendments and special permits onward. Commissioners pressed on parking counts (site has ~83 spaces shared by retailers), security staffing for unstaffed hours, and wastewater impacts from added bathrooms and showers.
The Planning Board determined under SEQRA that the proposed repurposing of a vacant building at 1101 Main Street for an Anytime Fitness health club would not have significant environmental impacts, allowing referral of zoning text amendments and special-permit materials to the Common Council and other agencies.
The applicant’s attorney (Keith Potensky) told the board he had met with the police chief and provided follow-up materials addressing security concerns; Potensky said the chief "had no further concerns" after the meeting. Commissioners pressed parking questions—staff said the site has approximately 83 parking spaces shared among retail tenants and that surveys indicated underutilization (less than 50% occupied on typical days). Board members also asked for a consolidated parking calculation that accounts for all tenants and peak periods, and flagged wastewater impacts from adding bathrooms and showers (the applicant described a total of four bathrooms, two with showers). Public and staff concerns about unstaffed hours led commissioners to seek more data on incident rates at comparable locations and the applicant agreed to provide corporate data on police calls and operational incidents.
The board voted to issue a negative declaration for the zoning text amendments, site plan and special permit and to refer the matter to the Common Council. Staff and the applicant will return with additional parking calculations, staffing hours, and supporting incident data to inform final site-plan review.
