Zoning Change for Dash's Hertel Market Meets Opposition

Businessman Joe Dash and his attorney thought they were asking for a simple zoning change to make his new Hertel Avenue property consistent with those of other large grocery stores in the city. To get the project approved, he would have needed as many as a dozen exemptions – known as variances – to city zoning rules. So he and attorney Corey Auerbach of Barclay Damon proposed changing the zoning for the site to one that would allow bigger lots and side parking. The Planning Board on Monday approved the request, but not before nearly an hour of discussion that was interrupted several times by concerned neighbors.

Auerbach noted that every other store of at least 16,000 square feet – Dash's proposal calls for 47,500 square feet – has the other zoning. The change would reduce the number of required variances to four or five.