Redevelopment Project—

P&Z Approves Office/Retail Complex For South Main Street

By Andrew Gorosko

Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members have approved a proposal to redevelop a former residential property at 84 South Main Street into a commercial complex with both office and retail uses.

At an April 3 session, P&Z members approved three separate applications submitted for the 2.5-acre site, which lies on the west side of South Main Street, just south of South Main Street’s southern intersection with Elm Drive.

The P&Z approved the project proposed by applicant Andrew Wiggin of 11 Farm Meadow Road under the terms of the Special Development District (SDD) provisions of the South Main Village Design District (SMVDD) zoning regulations.

In July 2007, the P&Z created those zoning regulations as a mechanism to respectively preserve and promote the New England appearance of existing and proposed commercial development and redevelopment projects along South Main Street.

Those regulations provide the P&Z with added controls concerning the design of new construction, substantial reconstruction, and the rehabilitation of properties, all of which are visible from public roads. The zoning rules allow the P&Z to more tightly control architectural designs, building placements, some traffic aspects of projects, and the maintenance of views from public places.

The heavily traveled South Main Street corridor has seen continuing commercial development and redevelopment during the past several years.

The 84 South Main Street project involves renovating an existing single-family Victorian-style house on the site for retail uses, constructing a new rustic-style office building for use by a magazine publishing firm, and renovating an existing garage on the site.

The project would provide about 9,000 square feet of commercial space, of which roughly one-third would be retail space. The site would have 35 parking spaces.

The 4,700-square-foot office building would house LMT Communications, Inc, currently of Monroe. The firm publishes a business magazine for the dental laboratory industry. The barnlike office building would be clad with vertical wood siding and have a shingled roof.

Traffic engineer Mark Davis of Tighe & Bond of Shelton, representing the developer, said that due to the high traffic volume on South Main Street, the driveway at the site would function at a low level of traffic service.

P&Z member Robert Mulholland said a major traffic issue for the property concerns the safety hazard that would occur when motorists attempt to make a left turn out of the complex’s driveway onto northbound South Main Street.

Engineer Larry Edwards, representing the developer, said the site’s existing driveway would be moved southward to reduce potential traffic conflicts between motorists using the driveway and motorists using the intersection of South Main Street and Elm Drive.

P&Z Actions

The P&Z approved three separate actions required for the redevelopment of the 84 South Main Street site.

The P&Z granted SDD zoning status to the project, under the terms of the SMVDD zoning regulations, to the applicant firm, which is known as Beneath The Vine and Fig Tree, LLC.

In practical terms, the flexible SDD zoning rules allow the P&Z and an applicant to negotiate the specific terms of customized zoning rules that are unique to a single commercial site alongside South Main Street lying within the SMVDD zone.

 It is the second time that the P&Z has used the SDD zoning rules. The ongoing Highland Plaza project, which involves the commercial redevelopment of the former Fireside Inn site 123 South Main Street, was the first project to make use of the SDD zoning rules.

P&Z members decided that the 84 South Main Street project meets the SDD regulations concerning architectural and site design, visual compatibility with the area, and also meets the terms of the 2004 Town Plan of Conservation and Development.

Additionally, P&Z members decided that changing the site’s zoning designation from Farming and Residential-1 (F&R-1) to SDD-2 conforms with applicable zoning regulations.

Also, the P&Z decided that the applicant’s request for a special exception to the zoning regulations conforms with applicable zoning rules.

The redevelopment project at the site is underway.