Commercial Development –

P&Z Approves Design Guidelines

And Zoning Revisions For Hawleyville Center

By Andrew Gorosko

Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members have approved a set of design guidelines for new commercial construction in Hawleyville Center, intended to promote the orderly and attractive commercial growth of that mixed-use neighborhood business district.

P&Z members approved the design guidelines, plus a related set of zoning rule revisions, on July 15, following a public hearing. The new rules take effect July 26.

P&Z members have been discussing creating a set of architectural and landscaping guidelines for the Hawleyville Center Design District–East (HCDD-E)  zone for the past several months.

The HCDD-E zone generally lies along the east side of Hawleyville Road. The zone runs about 2,500 feet alongside Hawleyville Road, extending northward from Interstate 84.

The HCDD-E zone also extends eastward from Hawleyville Road a short distance up Barnabas Road. A portion of the HCDD-E zone lies on the west side of Hawleyville Road, across the street from the Hawleyville Post Office. The HCDD-E zone covers more than 30 acres. The P&Z created most of the HCDD-E zone in 1999.

On July 15, P&Z member Lilla Dean said that Hawleyville still contains much undeveloped land, noting the potential for the extension of sanitary sewers into the area.

In formulating the design guidelines for the HCDD-E zone, P&Z members reviewed similar development guidelines that are now in effect in other towns, she said. The Hawleyville design guidelines have been through at least six revisions, she noted.

P&Z Chairman William O’Neil explained that the P&Z is seeking to have the Legislative Council enact an ordinance creating a town design review board. That advisory board would review preliminary designs for commercial architecture and related site-development work in the town’s two designated design districts, including the district in Hawleyville Center. The board would seek to have developers’ commercial architecture meet the P&Z’s design guidelines.

At the July 15 public hearing, local builder and developer George Trudell said that having such a design review board is a good idea. The existence of such an agency would allow design professionals working for a developer to deal directly with the design professionals who are members of such a review board, thus fostering good commercial design, he said.

The P&Z’s formulation of design guidelines for Hawleyville Center follows the P&Z’s recent approval of a developer’s proposal for an industrial-style commercial building in the HCDD-E zone on Barnabas Road. P&Z members had expressed a desire that the Barnabas Road building be less industrial-looking than is planned.

Also, earlier this year, the P&Z rezoned property along the west side of Hawleyville Road from Residential (R-2) to HCDD-E zoning, thus greatly expanding the potential future uses for that site. Residents living near the Hawleyville Road property that received the zone change had expressed concerns that the site not have some visually objectionable commercial use built on it in the future.

The P&Z consequently decided to formulate design guidelines for the HCDD-E zone.

 

New England Village

The guidelines’ purpose is promote the P&Z’s preferred architectural and site-design elements, which are intended to create a “New England village theme” with visual harmony and cohesiveness. “Community character and appearances will serve to preserve property values and create a ‘sense of place’ for the neighborhood commercial district,” according to the P&Z.

The guidelines are intended for new commercial construction, including exterior alterations and substantial additions. The guidelines do not affect single-family houses in the HCDD-E zone, unless those houses contain commercial uses.

The guidelines urge the preservation of natural features such as large trees, stonewalls, and rock outcroppings. They urge that buildings be positioned along street frontages with vehicle parking areas situated to the rear or to the side of buildings. The side of a building that faces the street should be designed to appear to be the “front” of that building, according to the P&Z.

The guidelines also call for shared driveways, interconnected parking lots, and internal passageways as means to limit curb cuts.

Landscaping in the HCDD-E zone should foster a consistent appearance for the area, according to the P&Z. Commercial signs should visually harmonize with a building’s architectural style. Site lighting should be both functional and pleasingly decorative. Garbage cans, air conditioning equipment, and fuel tanks, among other functional objects, should be screened from public view according to the P&Z.

The P&Z recommends that buildings be positioned in small groups, rather than being large monolithic forms, in order to foster a New England village appearance for the area.

The P&Z is encouraging the construction of two-story structures, with apartments situated above stores and other commercial uses.

Architectural Details

In the guidelines, the P&Z recommends the use of architectural detailing to provide visual interest. Preferred detailing includes gabled roofs, multipaned windows, chimneys, porches, window shutters, and fanlights, all of which would be of a particular architectural style. The P&Z recommends peaked-roof construction and the presence of awnings.

Preferred building materials include brick, stone, narrow clapboards, wood shingles, and vinyl siding. Preferred roofing materials are cedar shakes, slate, copper, and laminated architectural-grade shingles.

The P&Z makes numerous recommendations concerning preferred landscaping, site lighting, and signage. Also, the agency describes an optional design review process, under which proposed commercial development would be critiqued before the submission of a formal application to the P&Z.

Permitted uses in the HCDD-E zone include stores up to a maximum size of 15,000 square feet, personal services businesses, banks, offices, restaurants, museums, galleries, meeting halls, places of religious worship, government buildings, firehouses, post offices, libraries, commuter parking lots, and transportation terminals.