The site of the old CVS at 14 East Main Street may soon have a new purpose: An application has been filed to turn the building into a veterinary hospital. A public hearing on a zoning regulation change related to the plan has been set for Monday, June 14.

For two years, the site of the former CVS has been vacant after the current CVS location opened its doors in 2019 nearby. The old pharmacy location could soon be bustling with traffic from both two- and four-legged visitors if the application filed in the land use office from applicant Doron Berger is successful.

Berger’s application was filed on April 19 and proposes no new changes to the 8,800 square foot building. Instead, Berger is proposing turning the space into a veterinary hospital with grooming, day care, and boarding. Berger told the Harbor News he currently operates a vet service in Clinton, and was seeking to move and expand that business at the old CVS location. Berger declined to comment further on the application at this time.

At a Planning & Zoning Commission (PZC) meeting on May 10, Taylor Ohman and Russell Camilleri, agents for the application, shed a little more light on the application when they briefly addressed the commission. The agents said that the business would be open Monday to Saturday and operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday. There would be reduced operation hours on Saturdays. Additionally, the pair said that there would be no after-hours emergency services offered.

To make the application possible, the applicant is also applying to change the zoning regulations in section 27.2.41 to allow for the grooming, boarding, and day care component of the application in the B-3 zone.

The PZC voted unanimously to table the application for the business to wait for comments from the fire marshal and the health department. The PZC also unanimously voted to schedule a public hearing for the proposed zoning changes for June 14.

New Use, Old Controversy

Mention “CVS” and more than a few Clinton residents might roll their eyes. The opening of a new business in the old CVS location could be the final chapter in a strange saga that has prompted passionate arguments in town for the past 5 years.

The proposal to build the new CVS at its current location on the corner of Hull Street and West Main Street, about 100 yards up the road from 14 East Main Street, was a lightning rod of controversy for many residents during 2016 and 2017. Proponents of the idea cited an aesthetically pleasing design, an upgrade in location, and an improvement on structures that used to be on the lot. Opponents of the move spoke of an aversion to having a chain box store on a main entrance to Clinton’s downtown, the destruction of historic buildings on the property, and what some alleged was a political motivation in approving the site.

In a unanimous decision, the PZC voted on Feb. 13, 2017 to deny the application for a new CVS, primarily citing traffic concerns.

However, in March 2017 it was revealed that in December 2016, seven members of the PZC held a private meeting, reportedly to discuss a change in PZC leadership. The unnoticed meeting was in violation of the state’s Freedom of Information requirements, and that exposed the PZC to a lawsuit as the CVS application was still open at the time of the meeting.

Arista Development, LLC, the developer of the CVS site, filed a lawsuit seeking the PZC denial of the application be declared null and void. Attendees of the unnoticed meeting have repeatedly stated that the CVS application was not discussed, a claim that cannot be substantiated as there are no official records of the meeting.

In July of that year, the PZC voted to accept a settlement with the developer that paved the way for the current CVS to be built. That building opened in May 2019.

Almost immediately after the current CVS location opened, people in town began wondering what would go into the former location. Ken Larson, the owner of the property at 14 East Main Street, explained to the Harbor News in 2020 that CVS’s lease on the property didn’t end until the end of January 2021, so a new tenant would not be possible until that lease was up.

During this same time, the condition of the vacant site in a prime location downtown angered some people who believed its appearance reflected poorly on the town.

Resident Jane Scully Welch wrote to Larson and sent him pictures of the site. Soon after that, the property was cleaned up. Similarly, resident Peggy Adler contacted CVS about removing the large sign that was still on the property in late 2020 and the company promptly followed through with removing the sign.