By MATT LINDSEY

POTSDAM -- The St. Lawrence County Planning Board at a Feb. 9 meeting unanimously approved a site plan for Taco Bell.

The eatery is expected to be built this summer at the corner or Market Street and Sissonville Road.

The board passed the plan with one condition and six recommendations, according to Jason Pfotenhauer, deputy director of the St. Lawrence County Planning Office.

The applicant, Hospitality Syracuse Inc., must secure all Department of Transportation (DOT) permits needed for the proposed development.

The recommendations include constructing a sidewalk along Sisson Street and plant vegetation between the sidewalk and Market Street to mitigate headlight spillage from drive-thru to the street.

The applicant must also depict internal delivery and emergency vehicle circulation on the site plan.

“Basically fire trucks and rescue squads need to be able to get in and out,” he said.

“The plan must also allow for delivery vehicles to enter Taco Bell property without jamming up traffic and putting undue strain on the road network, Pfotenhauer said.

More recommendations are to designate snow storage areas, more trees to be planted around the trash enclosure. A village law requires that trash receptacles not be visible from the roadway.

The applicant must also substantiate that no light spillage onto the adjacent residential property will occur. To do this, a fence will be built to block light projecting onto a residential property on Sissonville Road, Pfotenhauer said.

Hospitality Syracuse Inc. hired a third party consultant to do a traffic study.

“The study said there will obviously be more traffic at that intersection but that it would not have a negative impact,” Pfotenhauer said.

The 2,200 square foot building will be located on 1.3 acres of land. It will include a drive-thru

“The Village of Potsdam doesn't have to accept our recommendations,” he said. The approval process now moves onto the Village of Potsdam. The village board meets Feb. 21.