GREENFIELD — With two approvals received in recent days, the discount supermarket chain Aldi can continue moving forward with plans to begin construction in spring 2024 on Mohawk Trail.

Just over a week after planners received notification that the project had met the regulations of the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA), the Zoning Board of Appeals approved a special permit Thursday to allow signs “greater than allowed” by zoning regulations.

The two building signs will each be about 120 square feet, according to Luke DiStefano of Bohler Engineering, exceeding the 64 square feet allowed by right. A third sign of the same size, which also required a special permit, will be located on the street, at a height of about 27 feet.

“This will give the building … a little better visibility than you might normally need if you had a building at the street’s edge,” DiStefano said, noting the building doesn’t have frontage on Route 2, but rather an access point off the state road.

The 6.5-acre property, located west of Interstate 91 behind McDonald’s with frontage on Robbins Road, is owned by Benderson Development, according to Matthew Oates of Benderson Development. The plan to construct a 19,400-square-foot grocery store on the site of the now-demolished Candlelight Motor Inn at 208 Mohawk Trail includes 97 parking spaces, accommodations for bicycle racks and e-commerce pick-up. Planners have previously said the building would be “solar-ready.”

“The signs are very much in keeping with other signs up and down that section of Route 2,” DiStefano told ZBA members. “Anything smaller than this is just going to get lost. Given that we don’t have a street presence, we felt that ... in keeping with similar signs in the area, it would give better notice to people who might not be familiar with the area.”

Responding to questions from board members, DiStefano said the signs would only be illuminated during open hours. And while he couldn’t provide the dimensions of nearby signs, he said he believed the proposed signs were similar in size. ZBA Chair David Singer said it would have been helpful to have been provided an image with the signs superimposed.

Board member Mark Maloni questioned whether the sign would be comparable to other Aldi supermarkets. DiStefano clarified Friday afternoon that the proposed signs were, in fact, prototypical.

Nobody spoke during the public comment portion of Thursday’s hearing, but a few people there for other hearings voiced their approval of the supermarket’s plan to open in Greenfield.

In past meetings, concerns for traffic impact have been raised, as well as concern over the potential impact a new grocery store would have on local stores, including Green Fields Market, which has expansion plans underway, and Foster’s Supermarket. Others, meanwhile, have advocated for the affordability Aldi, a Germany-based chain, would offer residents.

The project first appeared before the Conservation Commission in March 2022 for a brief discussion on potential plans at the property. A year later, planners returned to the commission for formal approval, which was granted provided that a stormwater pollution prevention plan be submitted before construction starts and the commission gets a report on progress toward wetlands resource restoration annually for the first two years.

The Planning Board subsequently approved the site plan for the grocery store in August, at which point the MEPA process, which reviews potential environmental impacts for which certain actions by state agencies are required, was still underway.

MEPA regulations met

According to MEPA analyst Nicholas Perry, who shared information on MEPA’s environmental review process in July, the Expanded Environmental Notification Form (EENF) was triggered as a result of certain thresholds the project met, including the generation of 2,000 or more new average daily trips on roadways providing access to a single location, and alteration of more than half the acreage of wetlands.

The EENF indicates the project will require a vehicular access permit from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

At the end of the process, Perry said Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper would issue a certification to identify whether the project complies with MEPA or if more analysis is needed.

“The MEPA is not a permitting process and does not approve or deny projects,” he clarified at the time. “MEPA review occurs prior to state agency actions to ensure agencies evaluate their environmental impact.”

Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne.