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Politics & Government

PepsiCo Expansion Hearing Planned for Tuesday

Traffic issues remain a concern for residents who are standing against PepsiCo's planned expansion to their offices in Purchase.

Pepsico will bring their ambitious expansion plans for their Purchase campus to a public discussion Tuesday night at Town Hall in the first of two possible meetings.

The , and the larger issue of how to manage the needs of local corporations and the residents whose homes surround their properties, will again be raised in those meetings. In anticipation of a large resident turnout and interest, the issue has been scheduled first on the agenda.

This first meeting will review PepsiCo's progress on the investigations required by the Planning Board following the company's prior presentations on their expansion plans.

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PepsiCo has completed their required Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and will be requesting that the Planning Board accept their findings, thereby closing the investigative and information gathering stage of  the impact statement process.

Despite issues of residential aesthetics and changes that could affect the neighborhood character, both issues that usually result in highly contentious meetings between corporations and residents, the talks and meetings between PepsiCo and local residents have, for the most part, been cooperative.

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Pepsico has a long standing record as a good corporate neighbor. The company has, since its establishment in Harrison in 1970, gone out of its way to contribute to the betterment of the town and neighborhood, with everything from its famed sculpture garden and park which is open to the public, to sponsoring municipal events, to supporting a local summer farmers' market. Further, most recognize that corporate taxes are the reason Harrison's property taxes remain substantially lower than those of surrounding towns. For those reasons Pepsico's, and similar large corporate land holders', presence in town is literally of great value to all.

To further assist the handling of the expansion, PepsiCo has met with locals throughout the process, addressing their concerns with changes to their initial plans. As a result, PepsiCo's application has been being moving forward expeditiously and some residents have said that many of their initial concerns have now been addressed.

But the major, and most difficult, issue remaining is traffic flow. Residents in Purchase and West Harrison are greatly concerned about the potential rise in traffic  specifically on Purchase Street, Anderson Hill Road and Lincoln Avenue, where traffic is already a concern.

A traffic engineer hired by residents earlier in the process, found that there could be as much a 77 percent increase in wait times at intersections near the expansion site.

Last month PepsiCo held a meeting at town hall where they accepted public input on the project. They also allowed anyone with thoughts on the project to send a letter to the company. PepsiCo did not, however, respond to any resident complaints at the last meeting, choosing instead to wait until all letters and thoughts were submitted and considered.

This issue will have the greatest effect on local residents, and on living and working conditions in the area.

Some residents have told Patch that they have requested the right to speak at tonight's meeting, but those requests has not yet been confirmed.

In the event that public response is not allowed tonight, a second Planning Board meeting with PepsiCo on the agenda is scheduled for Monday, July 12th at 8:00 p.m., also at the Harrison Municipal Building.  The public will have a chance to speak at that meeting and a large resident turnout is also expected.

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