Borough Zoners Criticize Office Building Proposal

By Andrew Gorosko

Based on Borough Zoning Commission members’ comments made during a June 11 session held to review a proposal to construct a 35,000-square-foot office building on the vacant corner of Church Hill Road and The Boulevard, the borough zoners appear poised to reject the controversial development application.

Commission members reviewed detailed checklists on the construction application, considering the many criteria that are weighed when deciding whether to grant a “special exception” to the zoning regulations and grant a “site development plan approval.” In the clear majority of those cases, commission members made findings that indicate they are inclined to reject the construction proposal when they act on it.

The commission is scheduled to meet on June 26 to act on the office building proposal.

Church Hill Partners, LLC, proposes a two-story office building, in what would be the most intensive commercial development project in the borough since the mid-1990s redevelopment of Newtown Shopping Village on Queen Street. The proposed office building would house professional offices, some of which would be medical offices.

Church Hill Partners is seeking approval for office building construction on the southwestern section of a 4.4-acre site at 37 Church Hill Road, including an adjacent 154-space parking lot. The site is in a P-1 Professional zone.

The developer is seeking a “special exception” to the borough zoning regulations and a “site development plan approval” to construct the building and related facilities.

Boulevard area residents strongly opposed the proposed office building at May and April public hearings. Their objections focus on the additional traffic that would be generated by an office building in the heavily traveled area, the relatively large size of the office building, and the placement of the sole entry/exit driveway for the building on the residential Boulevard.

On June 11, Borough Zoning Commission member Brid Craddock noted the many concerns that Boulevard residents have expressed. Ms Craddock said such a facility would generate much traffic that would enter and leave the office building at its sole driveway on The Boulevard. Ms Craddock said she expects the presence of an office building would hurt nearby residential property values.

Ms Craddock said she is primarily concerned about the traffic the proposed building would generate. She said she expects the former Grand Union supermarket site on Church Hill Road will be used again, generating more traffic in the future. The planned raising of the Housatonic Railroad bridge clearance on Church Hill Road will allow added traffic to use that street, she noted.

“We’re not promoting [public] safety and health by adding [an office] building of this scale and intensity of use,” she said.

Commission member Patrick Lyons said the proposed office building would be of a larger size and scale than houses on The Boulevard. The proposed building would not fit well into its neighborhood, he added.

Commission member David Francis said such a structure would create “the potential for an enormous traffic problem…worse than it is now.” Mr Francis added an office building “would impair property values.”

Commission Vice Chairman Brian Connolly asked members how they feel about having an office building on the corner of Church Hill Road and The Boulevard that is approximately the same square footage as Edmond Town Hall. The use of the proposed building “would create intense traffic,” he said, noting the area already has serious traffic problems. 

 Commission member Lucy Sullivan said that many open questions remain about the proposed office building, such as its tenancy, it hours of operation, and its intensity of use. The traffic on Church Hill Road is now very difficult to deal with, she said. The proposed office building would worsen traffic conditions in the area, pose safety issues, and damage nearby property values, she added.