There is now a proposal before the Yorktown Planning Board to build a 151,000 square foot Costco at the intersection of 202-35 and the Taconic Parkway. The building would be surrounded by 8 acres of macadam parking lot and include a huge gas station. The developers have been trying desperately to give the mistaken impression that this is a done deal. Far from it.
In order to ensure the most sensible direction for the growth of our town, the citizens of Yorktown came together, hired experts and spent years and well over a hundred thousand dollars of taxpayer money to create the best plan for development. The Comprehensive Plan was adopted by the Town Board in 2010, and now has the force of law. To quote from the Plan itself,
“In the end, not only did the process yield a Plan of exceptional quality and detail, but it also built the consensus and community support necessary for the Plan to be implemented in the future. This is truly the community's plan.”
The community's plan. That's us: we the people of Yorktown. Essentially, it calls for the town to continue to grow as it has for the past 200 years: mixed use. Stores, restaurants, offices, housing: the kind of place people don't just want to live but are proud to call home.
The proposed Costco is the exact opposite of this vision. Fourteen acres of building and macadam on the top of a hill, bathed in the harsh light of 25-foot lamps, serviced by a constant stream of semi-trailers on our local roads. Making a cynical mockery of our carefully considered plan for growth – the town we envision and hope for – the developers don't even bother claiming that it in any way comports with it: they say only that it is "allowed."
But there are any number of reasons why this plan for a superstore will forever alter the nature of our community. Over the next few days, we'll look at them in detail. In the meantime, if you want to know more, go to nocostco.com.
