I heard some news about a possible new mini-mart yesterday. 

A mini-mart owner bought the building at the corner of Chili Ave and Westfield St.  That building is at 989 Chili and is the former location of Ontario Printing, a sleepy business that did subcontracted press work (you may not have ever known it was operating there!).

There is already a mini-mart at 959 Chili (just 300 feet east of Westfield) and it already jams traffic on Friday evenings, and has customers parking in lots as far away as Dorren's.  Because the 989 Chili property is zoned C2, mini-marts are a permitted use.  A mini-mart may be opened without a variance or special permit.  No public hearing is needed.   However the location has severely limited parking, is accessible only from residential Westfield St., and adjoins R1 homes on Westfield.  Left turns in and out of Westfield are already a problem, and can only worsen.

Because of these problems Sector 4 CDC has requested that the City Planning and Zoning Department do a full Site Plan Review.  That is a process that would require the applicant to show plans to address any deficiencies in the site prior to the City issuing permits.

Now would be a good time to discuss this with your neighbors and to share your thoughts on the issue, and to support requiring a Site Plan Review by contacting John DeMott at the Sector 4 CDC Office <sector4cdc@yahoo.com> .