Costco Bows Out For Now

Costco yesterday pulled an application to build a new warehouse store off Exit 56 of I‑95 — a move that comes as no surprise given that it may have been headed for a regulatory denial.

Costco’s attorney pulled the application a few days before the inland wetlands commission (IWC) was set to begin deliberations and possibly vote. 

Attorney Thomas P. Cody, who has led the Costco team, acted as a final decision neared in what has been a long regulatory process, beginning some 18 months ago when Costco first submitted a Planned Development District (PDD) application to the Planning & Zoning Commission. The PDD was narrowly approved by a 3 – 2 vote and remains in effect. 

Under the PDD, which enabled the P&Z to vote first instead of the usual order that had IWC vote first, Costco would develop a 158,000-square-foot store, along with a 16-pump gas station on land now owned by the Wayne Cooke family. 

The three undeveloped properties include properties owned by Cooke and the Cooke family corporations who own a 22.36-acre site where Costco plans to build; Charles E. Weber Jr. and Al Secondino, and their 595 Corporate Circle corporation, who own a 16.56-acre parcel where six buildings are proposed; and trustee Peter G. Mandragouras, who owns a 1.73-acre site, where one building is proposed.

Weber also has an option to purchase the 22 acres of Cooke family land, an option that expires in March, 2017, and which may be extended by six months. The land has been appraised at $3,010,800 according to town records.

According to a commission spokesperson, the IWC will deliberate on the other two applications Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m. at Fire Headquarters, unless they are also pulled.

Cody Remains Vague

Cody, a partner at Robinson & Cole in Hartford, sent a letter yesterday morning to the IWC citing vague reasons for the company’s decision to withdraw its application eight months after it was filed. Cody noted that Costco has “previously expressed to the commission specific concerns about the manner in which this application has been reviewed and processed by staff,” and that they “remained concerned that the issues Costco has raised have not been fully resolved.”

Cody did not cite his reasons nor the issues, preferring to remain vague. He did not respond to a telephone request by the Eagle to discuss his reasoning. First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove said he was committed to bringing Costco to Branford, a statement that appears to signal a re-submission of Costco’s application once Cosgrove moves to change the make-up of the IWC when the terms of key commissioners expire at the end of May.

The final public hearing was held April 14 and the commission was scheduled to deliberate on the lengthy application this Thursday at Fire Headquarters. That meeting will be held in order to handle other matters, including revisions to the IWC regulations.

After months of public hearings and an enormous number of filings as well as testimony from residents, the commission was set to formally present its views on the project. If the commission denied the permit, the Costco applicants could not resubmit the same project without making changes to address the commissions concerns. By pulling out, Costco can restore the project they originally submitted. Cody was adamant about not changing the size of the Costco store.

Two of the questions the IWC would have weighed are whether the proposed Costco and seven other commercial buildings would adversely impact the wetlands—and whether “prudent and feasible alternatives” could lessen the impact. Prudent and feasible alternatives are part of the IW regulatory law.

In a peer review presentation, outside experts recommended that Costco downsize, that it eliminate or relocate the 16 gas pumps, among other changes, a recommendation Costco’s team did not like.

Whether the commission approved or denied the project there were options for appeals to be filed in state Superior Court.

Will Cosgrove Stack the IWC?

The timing is critical because the terms of four commission members, including Shapiro, are due to expire May 31. In addition to Shapiro, the term of Attorney James Killelea expires at that time along with Peter Basserman, recently moved from alternate to full position on the commission and Stephen Gangi, an alternate who has not been present during any of the Costco hearings.  A spot for a fifth alternate as yet unnamed is also up for appointment.

It is conceivable that they would not be reappointed. In August, First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove chose not to reappoint three longtime commission members despite their desire to remain. He did so just before Costco submitted its plan to IWC in September. Cosgrove moved to remove Dr. Richard Orson, one of the leading inland wetlands scholars in the state. Orson’s term expired May 31. By a 2-1 vote, the Board of Selectmen also removed Dr. Wesley Vietzke, a veteran member of the IWC and Leo Stanlake, an alternate.

Orson and the others wanted to remain on the board but Cosgrove removed them, saying it was time for a different balance.

BCRD Reacts

Attorney Keith R. Ainsworth, who represents the Branford Coalition for Responsible Development (BCRD), said upon hearing that Costco had withdrawn its application that this was nothing short of any effort to get the town to stack the IWC.  BCRD and the Branford Land Trust were intervenors in the Costco application.

“The BCRD will watch as this process continues to unfold and react as appropriate. I believe that this was a strategic and intentional attempt by Costco to manipulate the Town’s political process to obtain a permit from a more favorably composed wetlands commission. Costco is playing into a false hysteria that they are the victim of an unfair process when in reality they are simply the victim of an overly aggressive development plan.”

The motion to appoint three new IWC members in August was approved by a 2-1 vote of the Board of Selectmen. The Board of Selectman includes Cosgrove and Joe Higgins, Jr., a Republican, who vote in lockstep and Democrat Jack Ahern. 

The Branford Democratic party has endorsed Shapiro, an unaffiliated member and Killelea, for another term. There are seven IWC commissioners and three alternates. Cosgrove made it clear in a statement he released yesterday, that he will do what he has to do to get Costco to Branford. It was one of his campaign promises when he first ran for office in 2013. He said he was governed by economic realities. 

“I remain committed to bringing Costco to Branford. As we embark on a variety of major investments to improve the quality of life in our Town, we need corporate citizens who can significantly and responsibly expand our tax base. Costco’s proposed development at Exit 56 is a key to that expansion.”   

Cosgrove said he found the decision to withdraw the project “disappointing. As someone who believes that a clear majority of Branford residents support this development, this news is disappointing.” Echoing the statements of Attorney Cody, who repeatedly congratulated the Branford Land Trust for working with Costco, but disagreed with those who did not,  Cosgrove said, “I was encouraged by the constructive dialogue between the Branford Land Trust and the Applicant during the Public Hearing and the responsible manner in which Land Trust issues were raised and addressed by Costco.”

Cody did not take the same approach with the BCRD, which opposed the project and he was openly distressed when the IWC refused his request to work with the peer reviewers, Milone & MacBroom (M&M) before the firm completed its report.  As it turned out, before M&M could complete its final analysis and sign off on the project, Costco withdrew its required funding for the report.

Both the BCRD and the Branford Land Trust are intervernors in the Costco application. Whether they will do so again remains to be seen. Whatever Cody says was accomplished by Costco’s working with the land trust is now moot.
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