Proposed CVS Still Has Some Concerned

While there is still some time before the proposal for a CVS at Spring Street and Speedwell Avenue again goes before the town, several residents aired concerns this week over the present design.

Residents and members of the Morristown Historical Preservation Commission spoke at both Tuesday's Town Council meeting and at the Thursday redevelopment meeting, where an update had been scheduled on the CVS Project Redevelopment Area but was tabled.

Marion Harris, vice chair of the preservation commission, noted Thursday that a meeting between developers and her group was expected to be scheduled sometime after Oct. 19, when preservation commission chair Ken Miller would be back from vacation.

On Tuesday, Harris said the project "maybe needs a little shepherding."

Issues raised have included the decision to tear down the old structure on the site, a former used car dealership built in 1903, as well as design practices implemented in the current plan.

"If you have usable buildings, you don't knock them down and chuck it in the landfill," Harris said. "It's hard to see how CVS consorts to sustainability."

While fellow preservation commission member Carol Barkin, also with the Morris Tourism Bureau, acknowledged that building and the adjacent building formerly occupied by Blockbuster Video—which also would be knocked down for the project—"aren't attactive to some, they are a key part of town.

"People see that car dealership when they come to town," she said. "If we keep bulldozing things away, people won't come here anymore. It would be nice if they (CVS) were a little preservation-minded."

On Thursday, Washington Avenue resident Tina Wahlstrom noted she was in support of the project. "I am very supportive of CVS and the traffic plans," she said.

Still, Wahlstrom said she was "a little disappointed" at some prospoed design elements, including a two-lane thoroughfare for truck traffic to the site, a building set far from the road and a parking lot that "is so obvious."

Linda Carrington, of Macculloch Avenue, also noted the plan as it is holds the potential of creating a too-tempting cut-through for drivers from Spring onto Speedwell.

"Or, maybe we make it into a thoroughfare? Just a thought," she said.

Wahlstrom said when developers have said something cannot be accomodated, "I think we should insist 'can't' is code for 'won't' or 'costs more.'

"We need to hold the line and insist we determine the look and feel," she said. "It's not up to the brand."