P&Z Approves Commercial Building In Environmentally Sensitive Location

By Andrew Gorosko

Following lengthy review, Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members have unanimously approved a Monroe developer’s application to construct an office/retail building in an environmentally sensitive location, placing many conditions on that endorsement.

On February 2, P&Z members approved construction of the two-level, 6,000-square-foot commercial building at 224 South Main Street sought by developer Robert Mastroni. The site is just north of Sand Hill Plaza.

Voting in favor of granting a special permit for the project were P&Z Chairman William O’Neil, Lilla Dean, Robert Poulin, and Robert Mulholland.

As currently planned, the structure at 224 South Main Street would contain 3,000 square feet of retail space and 3,000 square feet of office space. Each level of the building would have three tenant spaces, for a total of six tenant spaces.

Each of the two 3,000-square-foot floors would have ground-level access because the building would be constructed on a slope. The building would be served by a public water supply, natural gas, and a septic waste disposal system. The property is in a B-1 (Retail Business) zone.

The 1.7-acre site is on the west side of South Main Street, at the intersection of South Main Street and Bryan Lane. The structure would face South Main Street, but have vehicle access from Bryan Lane. A house formerly stood on the steep site.

The property is immediately south of the Pootatuck River. Because the site is in the environmentally sensitive Aquifer Protection District (APD), and lies directly across South Main Street from United Water’s wellhead for its public water supply, town land use officials spent extra time analyzing the potential environmental effects of such development. The groundwater in that area constitutes the town’s central public water supply.

 Following an environmental review of the project, the Conservation Commission recommended its approval, provided that certain environmental safeguards are put in place.

On February 2, P&Z members decided that the project would have no significant adverse impact on the underlying Pootatuck Aquifer.

Last fall, after some P&Z members said the proposed building’s architecture could be improved, Mr Mastroni submitted the project for review by the town’s Design Advisory Board. That panel, which is comprised of two architects and a landscape architect, made some stylistic recommendations, concerning windows and roofing, which Mr Mastroni then incorporated into the structure’s design to give it a “Colonial” appearance. Also, the heating-ventilation-air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment for the building will be obscured from view.

In April 2000, the P&Z had granted an approval to local businesswoman Judith Volpe to construct a 6,065-square-foot commercial building at the site, but those plans never materialized. It had taken Ms Volpe several years to gain the approvals needed to develop the site, in view of its environmentally sensitive location near the public water supply wellhead in the APD.

The special permit that the P&Z had granted to Ms Volpe in 2000 had expired, so Mr Mastroni had to seek a new special permit for his project.

Conditions of Approval

In approving the commercial building, the P&Z placed a number of conditions on its construction and operation.

A waste dumpster to be used to hold refuse generated at the building must be covered and must be obscured from view by landscaping and fencing. Signs noting the site’s location’s in the APD must be posted on the dumpster’s enclosure to alert people that the waste container is located in an environmentally sensitive area.

The P&Z approval specifically does not permit the building to be used for a child day care center. 

Landscaping must be provided on the site to effectively screen the view of its parking area from neighboring properties year-round.

Any business signs that are posted on the site must complement the building’s architecture and must be submitted for town review. Internally illuminated signage is prohibited.

The property’s owner must file an aquifer protection plan with the town for review. That plan must address activities conducted within the building, exterior grounds maintenance, and how various spills would be contained on the site, among other technical information. The policy must be posted and available for review by the building’ tenants and employees.

The P&Z is prohibiting the outdoor storage of commercial vehicles or construction equipment on the site. Maintenance of such vehicles also is prohibited.

Also, the building’s septic waste disposal system and stormwater drainage control system must be properly constructed to prevent environmental damage. Also, the operation of those systems must be monitored.

All drywells and stormwater catch basins on the site must have permanent markers affixed to them noting the site’s environmentally sensitive location.

The P&Z also is requiring that a pile of debris on the site consisting of brush, trash, and burnt logs be hauled away from the property, and not be buried on the site.

Lighting fixtures to be used to illuminate the parking lot must direct their light downward and must not scatter their light off the site.

P&Z members decided that if the developer follows the many conditions of approval, the development of the site and its potential commercial uses would have no significant adverse effect on the underlying aquifer.