Borough Zoning Commission (BZC) members are continuing their discussions on possible zoning rule changes intended to address the issues facing some historic borough buildings, in general, and Edmond Town Hall, in particular.

At their June 14 session, BZC attorney Donald Mitchell pointed out that if "borough landmark building" zoning regulations were to be created, there would need to be a set of standards specifying the requirements for a given building's "landmark" status. Also, the uses that would be allowed in such a building, beyond what is permitted in that building's underlying zone, would need to be listed, Mr Mitchell said, according to BZC records.

Edmond Town Hall, which served as the local seat of government until October 2009, is in a R-1 (Residential) zone.

BZC member David Francis pointed out that if landmark zoning regulations were to be created and applied to Edmond Town Hall, the building would become less of a financial burden to the town, BZC records show. Such regulations would allow there to be different types of uses at that building than currently allowed.

Landmark zoning would allow a specific set of uses for each building that is designated as a landmark for the purposes of the zoning regulations.

When town government offices left Edmond Town Hall in October 2009, and moved to Newtown Municipal Center at Fairfield Hills, the town stopped paying the Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers rent for that office space, eliminating a large portion of the revenue that the managers received to run the building. That major revenue cut has resulted in local officials now seeking new sources of income to operate the building.

Paradoxically, although the town owns Edmond Town Hall, it had paid rent to the Board of Managers, which is the designated management entity for the structure, under the terms of a state law covering Edmond Town Hall. The town government now subsidizes Edmond Town Hall's operations through its annual municipal budget. It also covers the costs of various capital improvement projects for the building.

The Board of Selectmen is seeking to have space in Edmond Town Hall rented out as professional office space at market rates as a way to greatly increase the annual revenue produced by the building.

BZC members are expected to continue discussing possible zoning rule changes at upcoming sessions. After formulating a set of proposed zoning rule changes, the P&Z would hold a public hearing on the matter before acting on the regulatory proposal.