Monroe Commons still under review

Monroe Commons, which was granted conditional approval at the Monroe Town Planning Board in December 2024, continues to be under review by the Woodbury Village Planning Board, who expressed concerns about the applicants proposed grading plan on property located within the village of Woodbury, during their July 2 meeting.

The applicant is seeking to clear and grade approximately 2.5 acres of a lot within the village to enable construction of parking and driveways for the mixed-use project. According to their representatives, the grading would not result in the project being visible from multiple areas of the village.

The board questioned whether the removal of trees would impact the views of the project from the village and if an alternative plan to use a retaining wall would be possible. According to the representatives for the project, grading was preferred.

The board agreed that they would like to see a rendering of what the retaining wall would look like before making a decision.

During the meeting, the board continued its review of Woodbury Common’s proposed plan to construct a hotel, a new parking garage and additional retail spaces. Among the concerns raised was the availability of ambulance services given limitations in the area and availability of parking for both employees and patrons. The representative agreed that more review was needed regarding ambulance services, including the possibility of using a private service and affirmed that during peak shopping periods the top floor of the new parking garage would be restricted to employees. The board also discussed the possibility of having a system to alert shoppers about the number of available spots and better traffic control in the area.

The board granted conditional approval to Valley Seafood for an addition to existing retail. The approved site plan no longer includes the two proposed apartments to be located on the second floor, as the applicant was not granted permission to hook up the water system. Instead, this space will be used for storage, according to the representative for the applicant.