BY ROBERT L. BAKER

Wyoming County Press Examiner

The Wyoming County Planning Commission voted last Wednesday night to give preliminary approval to the CVS Drugs’ revised land development plans that should eventually help transform the space where Gay’s True Value is.

Sean McDermott of The Zaremba Group was on hand to answer any questions that the planning body might have, and noted the flood plain application was revised to reflect new maps as well as issues addressed at the Aug. 9 Tunkhannock Borough Council meeting.

He said the elevations changed eight-tenths of an inch, but the floor space was unchanged as had been put before the body over the past year.

“Now we will not have floodwater up on the store’s exterior walls,” McDermott said in reference to one-percent flood plain elevations suggesting the possibility of a one in 100-year event.

Planning Commission member Rich Fitzsimmons asked about a timetable and the current status of a review requested before the Environmental Hearing Board in Harrisburg.

McDermott said a date had not been set, and although recent delays had impacted the overall process, “There’s nothing legally stopping us from construction.”

However, the planners said there were still some reviews by other agencies, but they would likely be out of the way soon.

Audience member Susan Distadio asked McDermott to consider the possibility of putting the store on stilts because she feared a flooding event would have impacts on people downstream.

McDermott said the issue had been requested by her before and considered but CVS was comfortable with its present plan

The planners also gave an OK to a minor subdivision report that includes the following lands: Robert Longmore in Monroe Twp., Arlene Lane in Tunkhannock Twp., Bouwe Aukema in Meshoppen Twp., Doug and Karen Walker in Tunkhannock Twp., Ronnie and Cheri Shaver in Exeter Twp. and Don Sherwood in Tunkhannock Borough.

The latter, community planner Paul Weilage said, would be the joining of previously unattached parcels for a land improvement.

Weilage also noted that he had recently attended a meeting involving new color-code FEMA maps that show channelized floodplain areas.

The new map will allow persons to go to an online map, find their property and get information about its flood plain status. More information would be available at the Commission’s October meeting.