A Fresh Look

At Tech Park Possibilities

By Kendra Bobowick

The new Technology Park plan is just a “preliminary layout for discussion purposes only,” said Director of Planning and Community Development Elizabeth Stocker, but it is a beginning.

Unlike prior park renditions that had created disagreement among conservation and economic-minded groups in town, the newest park arrangement on a site off Commerce Road is a better looking configuration to Land Use Agency Deputy Director Rob Sibley, for one. He recently placed the map in Conservation Commission members’ hands. He feels positive about the commission’s response, and finds the plan to be an improvement over former development proposals. Overall he said, “People are encouraged.”

 A small cluster of buildings between 8,000 and 28,000 square feet skirt a turnaround at the end of a proposed access driveway, part of which crosses a wetland area. (Wetland portions of the Technology Park are indicated in the shaded areas on the map). None of the buildings encroach on the wetlands, but sit close enough to require a close eye from Land Use, Mr Sibley explained.

Economic Development Commission (EDC) Chairman Robert Rau is “comfortable” with his commission’s relationship with conservation, saying, “While there is still no agreement [on a Technology Park] yet, we’re on the same page and talking and are trying to do what’s best.” While conservation aims to protect open space and the EDC strives to maximize tax revenue, Mr Rau said, “Somewhere between the two there is a way.”

He also noted that there are “many stakeholders” in the Technology Park process. Naming the Inland Wetlands Commission, Planning & Zoning Commission, the Conservation Commission, and the state, he explained, “This has got to be a giant compromise.”

He refers to the recent plans as a “what-if” scenario. A road running between Wasserman Way and Commerce/Church Hill Roads is still at question. Previously under the impression that a road was a stipulation in the plan — alleviating cross traffic that relies solely on the Queen Street cut through — Mr Rau explained, “We’re uncertain if there are complications to doing that. We need to sort that out.” The “what if” plans hinges on if there are impediments to building a road. “It’s an uncertainty, it’s murky,” he said.

Economically speaking, Mr Rau said, “A plan [such as the current draft] doesn’t give the same type of tax revenue as a larger development.” His commission’s goal, however, is to financially make the most of the Tech Park. “We’re trying to max out the revenue for the town.”

Also entering the conversation is the possibility of a solar farm at the very end of Commerce Road near the water treatment plant. Already EDC members have met with Public Works Director Fred Hurley, the Water and Sewer Authority, to start, about the possibilities of a solar park. “We’ll see if it is feasible,” Mr Rau said, adding that the power generated would feed into the eclectic grid.