Barely two months after Costco sued a town for blocking two proposed mega-warehouses, the town agreed to a negotiated settlement that will probably let plans for both buildings move ahead.
Plainfield’s planning and zoning commission in March turned down Costco’s plan for an accessway to its planned 1.1-million-square-foot freight depot in Canterbury, a decision that also stopped the company from building a second, relatively similar building on Plainfield land nearby. If a court approves the settlement, Costco would move much closer to being able to construct the Canterbury depot. But the second component, the 1.1-million-square-foot Plainfield distribution center, wouldn’t be guaranteed because Costco would still have to go through a special permit review. In the settlement, Costco agreed to some changes in landscaping and a long driveway from Route 12 to address complaints from neighbors. But there is still widespread public concern that several hundred trips a day by tractor trailers will severely worsen traffic on Route 12 and other nearby roads. Costco plans a 1.1 million-square-foot of warehouse space split between two separate buildings next to each other, with one in Canterbury and the other in Plainfield. Canterbury has already approved its half, which would receive wholesale deliveries from suppliers and warehouse them before they’re shipped to Costco’s stores. Costco describes the Plainfield building as a distribution center that would process online orders.
Deal appears to advance Costco mega-warehouses in CT. Traffic a worry: ‘Awful lot of trucks here’
