PROSPECT — Driveways of a proposed CVS Pharmacy will be on Chandler Drive and Summit Road.
Residents of the two streets and a few others nearby were not happy with the plans for a 13,225-square-foot pharmacy at 26 Waterbury Road.
About 40 people showed up at a hearing of the Planning and Zoning Commission June 3 to express concerns with the project.
Crystal Pereira, of 20 Chandler Drive, urged the commission to think of her 5- and 2-year-old children who will no longer be living on a dead-end street.
“I shop at CVS. We’re just kind of upset about it being on our road,” Pereira said.
Other residents of Chandler Drive, many of whom had found out days before the hearing, when new plans were submitted that the driveway was changed from Waterbury Road to Chandler, were frustrated.
“I don’t think anybody understands how difficult it’s for everybody to get out of Chandler Drive at the peak,” said Cynthia Royle, of 27 Chandler Drive, speaking about peak hour traffic mostly during morning and evening commutes.
The pharmacy is being proposed for a 3-acre parcel that includes the former Buckmiller Bros. Funeral Home property and two office buildings on Summit Road. The pharmacy will have a drive-thru and 64 parking spaces.
Plans include the demolition of a building on Summit Road that was heavily damaged by fire and the partial demolition and renovation of an existing building into a 2,440-square-foot office space with 10 parking spots.
The project is being proposed by Lombard Group of Waterbury, whose principal, John Lombard grew up in town. Lombard Group plans to move its headquarters from Waterbury into the newly renovated building in Prospect.
Lombard Group initially submitted plans months ago and has worked with town and state officials to make adjustments to the plans that residents and local officials had suggested.
The company is giving the town $75,000 in a transportation fund to be used at the town’s discretion. This frustrated residents at the hearing, accusing the commission of “rubber-stamping” the project.
Commission member Alan Havican took offense at the suggestion.
“It’s a little insulting to be honest,” he said.
The hearing was continued to the commission’s next meeting on June 17.
Land Use Inspector Tammy Deloia said the commission’s next step is to receive and review a complete set of plans with all the revisions the applicant has made to the project.
Once the commission closes the hearing it will have 65 days to make a ruling on the proposal, Deloia said.
Luke Marshall contributed to this article.
