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Tractor Supply Seeking South Main Street Location For New Store

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Tractor Supply Company, a major retailer whose product lines include agriculture, livestock, equine, pet care, home improvement, and lawn and garden maintenance, is seeking a preliminary land use approval from the town toward its goal of locating a new store on a 8.19-acre site at 116 South Main Street.

The property is on the west side of South Main Street, south of South Main Street’s intersection with Simm Lane.

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) has scheduled a public hearing for August 6 on a request for a change of zone for the site from R-1 (Residential) to SMVDD (South Main Village Design District). The 59 property owners who have holdings within 500 feet of the site would be formally notified of the public hearing.

New England Retail Properties (NERP) would buy the land from current owners John Mead and Nicole Buxton. An existing circa 1810 house and other structures on the site would be demolished to make way for the retail development.

If all required town approvals are received, NERP would construct a 19,097-square-foot concrete-block store for Tractor Supply, which would be NERP’s tenant. The store also would have a 15,000-square-foot outdoor sales area. The site would have a 77-space parking lot.

George Benson, town director of planning, said that the development firm has submitted conceptual plans for the proposed store.

SMVDD zoning provides for highly flexible zoning regulations, allowing the applicant and P&Z to create mutually agreeable zoning rules, which apply only to the site proposed for development under the terms of the SMVDD’s Special Design District (SSD) provisions.

The P&Z created SMVDD zoning in 2007 in seeking to preserve the New England character of the 4.2-mile-long South Main Street corridor.

Projects that have been created under SMVDD zoning include Walgreens Pharmacy at 49 South Main Street and Highland Plaza at 123 South Main Street.

The applicant for the 116 South Main Street site has submitted a set of proposed zoning regulations that might be used for the site’s development under SMVDD zoning.

If the applicant receives a change of zone from R-1 to SMVDD from the P&Z, it would then need to obtain a wetlands/watercourses protection permit from the Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) because the site has wetlands.

The applicant also would also need a formal development approval from the P&Z. Such applications are subject to review by the town’s Design Advisory Board (DAB).

In July 2007, after several years of discussion, P&Z members enacted SMVDD zoning, which is intended to provide the P&Z with more control over the design of new construction, substantial reconstruction, and the rehabilitation of properties, all of which are visible from public roads.

The zoning rules allow the P&Z to more tightly control architectural designs, building placements, some traffic aspects of projects, and the maintenance of views from public places.

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