At last night’s Clarkstown Planning Board meeting, board members discussed the Rockland Bakery expansion with the representatives of the business:
- Joe Battaglia, Rockland Bakery Owner
- Justin Lim, Professional Engineer overseeing the project
- Gerard Amalfitano, Attorney
The Nanuet business submitted an application for an additional facility to bake cakes for wholesale distribution. The application requests approval for a 31,620-square-foot facility on 3.2 acres along West Nyack Road in Nanuet.
The proposed location is on the south side of West Nyack Road, approximately 400 feet west of Demarest Mill Road. The property, which is located between Toys R Us and County Gas Service, is currently used for parking the bakery’s trucks and tractor-trailers. The project is for minor manufacturing, including the baking of 80 percent of the cakes prepared for wholesale distribution. It would feature a two-story building with a mezzanine, warehouse and storage space. The retail operation would remain at 94 Demarest Mill Road, the present location. Read more about the expansion in this Patch post.
After the discussions with the planning board, Rockland Bakery representatives have some loose ends that need to be looked into, so the planning board will have the bakery's expansion on their future agenda, possibly February.
Control Deputy Director Dennis Letson asked them to look into addressing a “Potential spill from the fueling facility” and the site’s outward appearance.
“I suggest that (Rockland Bakery) looks into extending the planting island to West Nyack Road to give more aesthetics to the entry,” said Letson. “The only point in having that big (area) of asphalt in there is if you planned on looping trucks around through the site, but there’s nothing on the truck movement diagram to indicate (that). You may be able to save yourself a little asphalt and cut back on the storm water management issues by making some of that a planted area.”
“That was our intention. Some of the trucks are 1-directional. The trucks … on the south side of the building are lined up so that they’re 45 degrees from the curb line,” said Lim. “To go back to the refueling station or the maintenance garage, we would like for (those trucks) to go around the paved access area.”
“Wouldn’t it be simpler for those trucks to make that movement between the parking at the north side of the building and the entry landscape island within the site without having to go out the gate and come in the other slide gate?” asked Letson.
Lim said that he would get back to Letson on that because the tractor trailer is the vehicle that needed the space for the turn around.
Amalfitano added that this was discussed at a prior meeting and the entryway was designed like that for the trucks to have space to swing around.
“I think West Nyack Road, as it is, … we don’t need a sea of asphalt,” said Planning Board Chairperson Shirley Thormann. “The focus in today’s planning world is a little more ‘green.’”
Minor requests were made in regards to the dumpster heights, the sliding entry gate, small tweaks in the site maps drawings etc …
One hot topic that commonly known by many who frequent the bakery is the parking situation. Check back with Patch for a second update on the meeting.
Other Patch Posts:
- Rockland Bakery Proposes Expansion
- Rockland Bakery's Expansion Plans Falls Through
