P&Z Seeks More Control Over South Main St. Commercial Growth

By Andrew Gorosko

Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members are considering a range of regulatory approaches to better guide commercial growth along the South Main Street corridor, with the goals of preserving the thoroughfare’s remaining residential character, limiting traffic congestion, and encouraging quality design in new commercial architecture.

P&Z members are reviewing the creation of new zoning regulations affecting the 4.2-mile section of South Main Street lying between Borough Lane on the north and the Monroe town line on the south.

The town already has two commercial design districts — one in Sandy Hook Center, which has the Sandy Hook Design District (SHDD) zoning designation, and the other in Hawleyville Center, which has the Hawleyville Center Design District- East (HCDD-E) zoning designation.

Commercial growth in those two compact business districts is more tightly regulated than in other commercial areas to encourage the types of development that P&Z members consider to be physically attractive and also welcoming to pedestrians. The town has a Design Advisory Board, which makes aesthetic recommendations to applicants who are seeking the P&Z’s approval for commercial construction in areas with SHDD and HCDD-E zoning.

P&Z members are reviewing whether they should create a similar set of design district regulations for South Main Street, or should take some other regulatory approach to shaping that area’s commercial growth, such as the creation of Village District zoning.

The Borough Zoning Commission has Village District zoning regulations for some commercial areas in the borough. Village District zoning seeks to have new commercial construction be aesthetically compatible with its physical surroundings. The borough zoners retain an architectural consultant who makes aesthetic recommendations to applicants for commercial construction in areas with Village District zoning.

P&Z members have long discussed the need for a set of zoning rules that would better shape commercial growth along South Main Street. Such rules would seek to limit traffic congestion and avoid the creation of strip-style commercial development, with the overall goal of preserving the local quality of life.

Much of South Main Street lying south of Borough Lane has commercial development, but sections of the western side of the street retain some single-family houses.

The southern end of South Main Street lies in the town’s Aquifer Protection District, an area above the Pootatuck Aquifer where development is tightly regulated for environmental protection reasons. The aquifer is the source of two public water supplies, plus hundreds of individual domestic water supplies. 

Community Development Director Elizabeth Stocker said that formulating suitable land use regulations to better control development along the busy South Main Street poses various regulatory challenges.

Regulatory Options

On January 19, Glenn Chalder of Planimetrics, LLC, an Avon-based land use consulting firm, explained seven possible different regulatory approaches that the P&Z could pursue toward better shaping South Main Street’s commercial growth.

They include “adaptive reuse” zoning, such as that used in Wilton, in which existing residential buildings along a state highway could be adapted for commercial uses. South Main Street is state Route 25.

The towns of New Canaan and Falls Village have crafted zoning regulations focusing on “home-based businesses.” Mr Chalder suggested that Newtown consider modifying its existing zoning rules on home-based businesses. 

Mr Chalder also suggested that the P&Z formulate a “design manual” that would aid applicants navigate the design review process conducted by the Design Advisory Board. The Town of Simsbury has received awards for its design manual, Mr Chalder noted.

Additionally, he suggested that the P&Z consider regulations addressing “access management,” which would involve better managing existing and future “curb cuts” along South Main Street to limit the number of places where motorists would encounter turning traffic.

Another zoning approach would entail “consolidated parcels,” in which adjacent commercial parcels may be consolidated into a single parcel for zoning purposes, in order to limit traffic flow problems. Zoning incentives would be offered to property owners for such consolidation, he said. The Town of Avon has such zoning regulations effect.

Mr Chalder also suggested that the P&Z consider creating a South Main Street “design district,” which would be similar in approach to the existing design districts in Sandy Hook Center and Hawleyville Center.

He also suggested that the P&Z consider allowing an expansion of land uses that do not conform to the zoning regulations, commonly known as “nonconforming uses.” He said that allowing an expansion of such uses could provide incentives to property owners to maintain and possibly improve their buildings, rather than allowing them to fall into disrepair.

Creating zoning regulations to better control commercial development along South Main Street poses difficult issues for the P&Z, considering the competing interests are at play in the area, Mr Chalder said.

P&Z member Lilla Dean thanked Mr Chalder for his comments, noting that P&Z members now have a sense of the spectrum of regulatory possibilities available for shaping South Main Street’s commercial growth.

P&Z members are expected to be formulating such new zoning regulations in the coming months.