Costco Will Apply for Town Approval for Route 202 Store

Costco, the warehouse club chain, will submit a formal application for approval of a store to be built near the intersection of the Taconic Parkway and Route 202 in Yorktown. The site is about half a mile east of the location of a BJ's store.

The application will be submitted before the end of June, according to Al Capellini, a Yorktown lawyer representing the chain. This would be the first Costco store in Northern Westchester. There are stores in Yonkers and Port Chester.

Costco made a presentation to the Yorktown Town Board about redeveloping the site during a work session in January, said Susan Siegel, town supervisor.

"They understood that the town was then in the process of finalizing an update of the comprehensive plan for Yorktown development over the next 20 years," she said. "They realized that it did not make sense to come in with the formal application until a finalized plan."

The town's comprehensive development plan, the update of which is expected to be finished in late June, will not change any of the zoning in the area Costco is proposing to use, Siegel added. They are keeping zoning intact.

"We look forward to seeing the application," said Siegel, when told of Costco's plans.

She added that it is possible that the application can be submitted directly to the town's planning board.

If the town approves Costco's application, it will still be a long way from opening the store, according to the chain's lawyer.

"The approval process is lengthy and requires approval by several agencies besides the town government," Capellini said.

The opening of another big box retailer brings up worries about traffic in the area for some people.

"It looks like it might be congested," said Kathy O'Connor of Peekskill, who had just finished shopping at BJ's on a recent day. "It will all depend on the traffic routes," she said.

O'Connor has memberships at Sam's Club, the warehouse chain owned by Walmart, and BJ's. She said she would probably get a membership at Costco as well, because the three chains carry different merchandise.

"Traffic is bad as it is," Paula Peden of Shrub Oak said that same day.

She said she is satisfied with her BJ's membership.

"I might try Costco, but I don't know if we need two similar stores," Peden said.