Developers of Food Bank of Hudson Valley, a project being built on 574 Route 416 in Montgomery, appeared at the Village of Montgomery’s July 31 planning board meeting to propose additional truck parking for the facility, an extension that was overlooked during the project’s earlier phases.

Marcia Jacobowitz, project manager of the food bank, explained that as the facility developed, she and her team realized that the site did not have adequate parking space for food delivery trucks. She proposed a quarter-acre extension to the facility’s rear parking, enough to accommodate four tractor-trailers and eight box trucks, giving these vehicles more space to enter the site, unload the food, and exit.

“We are here because we have a tight site and need to accommodate trucks that will deliver the food,” Jacobowitz said. “As things moved along and were taken into consideration, the amount of food that’s going to be moved, which is 20 million pounds for our operation, requires us to have some trucks that can park there so the food can be delivered and unloaded.”

“In order to do that and allow for easier entry onto the property and exiting, we would need about a quarter of an acre in the rear,” she continued. “All this does is extend the parking in the back.”

Jacobowitz emphasized that this extension would not have any significant impact on the project or increase truck traffic in the area. She estimated five to six trucks would deliver food to the facility weekly.

“It doesn’t change anything in terms of elevations, building location, or infrastructure, except for some more curbing in the back. It doesn’t change anything with utility or the need for additional services, other than extending the paving out,” Jacobowitz said. “We’re not adding more trucks, we just had no place to park them to begin with.”

Amy Frisbie, chairwoman of the planning board, took this opportunity to list several comments that Lanc & Tully, the village’s engineering company, submitted to the board regarding the project plans. First, she referenced the project’s environmental assessment form submitted in February 2023, which only mentioned four trucks delivering food a week, not five to six. She requested that the applicant review the extension and consider how it may impact truck traffic.

“The EAF provided in February 2023 noted only four trucks per week,” Frisbie said. “The applicant should discuss the need for additional truck parking area and how it will impact the operations of the site.”