Costco Public Hearing Begins Monday Night

The public hearing for the proposed Costco Wholesale Club in Yorktown begins Monday night at the Nutrition Center Room, located on the lower level of the Yorktown Community and Cultural Center.

Costco seeks to build a 151,092-square-foot retail store available to club members at 3200 Crompond Road (Route 202, north side), just west of the Taconic State Parkway. That proposal has since drawn strong support and opposition from residents. 

Monday's hearing, which begins at 7:30 p.m., will focus on the company's draft environmental impact statement (DEIS), which was deemed complete by Yorktown planning board members last month.

Residents can comment on the 2,200-page DEIS during the public hearing on Oct. 15. Once the planning board votes to close the public hearing, written comments will be accepted for 10 additional days.

Opponents to Costco, who have created the NoCostco.com website and posted information on Yorktown Smart Growth, have been holding protests and anti-Costco demonstrations. Their slogan has been "Costco is not a done deal" and have been urging residents to speak up at the public hearing. They have been citing traffic nightmares, air pollution and local businesses going out of business as some of the potential results the development might have on the town.

Supporters of the wholesale club have formed "Citizens for a Progressive Yorktown," a group supported by the developer that is fighting back the group of residents who had been speaking in opposition of the store's development. Supporters have created a YouTube video in which Yorktown residents and business owners say they would welcome Costco in town. The group has also said the traffic numbers the opponents' have cited are exaggerated. The developer's traffic engineer has pointed to a $10 million traffic improvement project that would alleviate some of the anticipated and already existing traffic problems in the area.

Check back with Patch for more on the public hearing.

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