ROCK HILL — Residents of Rock Hill were holding signs stating their opposition to the Glen Wild Land Co. LLC development, Avon Commercial Park, when they attended the June 8 Thompson Planning Board meeting.

The developer wants to build 560,000 square feet of warehouse space in two buildings along Rock Hill Drive and, along with that development, the addition of two traffic lights, curb installation, and striping of roads to create new traffic patterns in the hamlet of Rock Hill.

Chris Wallace of Rock Hill said in an email he has been losing sleep over the project for months and said, “Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that any individual, business, or developer would be able to come to Rock Hill, the town where I was born and raised, and completely destroy our way of life.”

Since the public hearing opened in January 2022 on the Avon Commercial Park project, an overwhelming amount of letters have been sent to the planning board, and some have spoken out at the in-person public hearing or on Zoom.

Chet Smith of Rock Hill said in an email that two traffic lights that the developer is proposing on Katrina Falls and another on Glen Wild Road would hinder traffic so much that it could cause Exit 109 to close.

“This will cripple our community and life here as the residents know it,” said Smith.

And at the June 8 meeting, the developer went before the board seeking a negative declaration for the New York's State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR) and to close the public hearing.

Larry Wolinsky, a legal consultant to the planning board, reminded them before voting that SEQR determination is not an approval of the project.

“It's the determination of whether an environmental impact statement will be prepared or not be prepared. The criterion for not preparing one is whether the evidence in the record demonstrates that the project as proposed will not have a significant adverse impact on the environment,” said Wolinsky.

Furthermore, Wolinsky said if the evidence indicates that it will have a significant adverse impact on the environment, an environmental impact statement must be prepared.

Additionally, Wolinsky said that the public hearing was based on the site plan review and not the SEQR process.

However, Suzanne Broad of Rock Hill said that the proposed warehouse project would “loom” over Rock Hill.

“The distribution trucks will cause extremely high increases in traffic delays and long queues that cannot be accommodated on the existing roadways,” Broad said.

Hillary Fabian of Rock Hill added, “Its proposed size and character will dwarf its surroundings. The public health, safety, and general welfare and comfort and convenience of this community's residents have not been considered.

Previously, an attorney for the development said that the traffic light and dedicated turning lanes that would be installed would make the traffic more “efficient.”

According to a letter from the project's engineers to the Thompson Planning Board, “The analysis contained in the Traffic Impact Study does not indicate any significant impacts to the delays or queues along the New York State Route 17 ramps. Although some delay increases will occur with the addition of site-generated traffic from the Proposed Project to the New York State Route 17 ramps, the increases do not rise to the level of requiring mitigation.”

The planning board voted to adopt a negative declaration on the SEQR review and close the public hearing which moves the project further along.

The next step for the planning board is to start reviewing the site plan and special permits—which has yet to be approved.