After lengthy discussion on July 21, Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members unanimously approved the construction of a Tractor Supply Co. store at an 8.2-acre site in a South Main Village Design District (SMVDD) overlay zone at 116 South Main Street (Route 25).

As part of the Tractor Supply development project, an 1810 two-story Colonial-style house and multiple outbuildings at the site would be demolished.

In March, Tractor Supply received a town property tax break for locating a store in town, gaining endorsements for the tax reduction from the Board of Selectmen and the Legislative Council.

The 19,097-square-foot store and adjacent 15,053-square-foot fenced outdoor display area would sell merchandise including home improvement goods, livestock/pet-related products, hardware, tools, lawn and garden maintenance items, clothing, footwear, and automotive items. The project is expected to require 20 weeks to construct.

Although the proposal submitted by NERP Holding and Acquisitions Company, LLC, has received several separate zoning approvals from the P&Z and a wetlands/watercourses protection permit from the Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC), the project is subject to a pending court appeal.

Last November, after the P&Z approved converting the site from R-1 (Residential) zoning to SMVDD zoning, and also approved creating a specialized set of zoning regulations, known as Special Design District-4 (SDD-4), which apply only to the Tractor Supply project, a nearby property owner filed a court appeal in seeking to overturn those P&Z approvals.

A firm known as 111 South Main Street, LLC, which owns a one-acre parcel at that address containing a commercial building that holds Fair Auto Supply of Newtown, Inc, and Newtown Florist, is the plaintiff in the lawsuit. The defendants are the P&Z, NERP, and John Mead and Nicole Buxton, who jointly own 116 South Main Street.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs and the defendants were scheduled to appear in Hartford Superior Court on July 27 for a trial of the case.

At the July 21 P&Z session, attorney Christopher Russo, representing 111 South Main Street, LLC, raised various objections to the Tractor Supply proposal in asking that the P&Z reject it.

"We believe this application is totally contradictory to your Plan of Conservation and Development," Mr Russo said, adding that the "concrete box" appearance of the store does not reflect New England architecture.

Conditions Set

After lengthy discussion, P&Z members formulated a set of conditions on their Tractor Supply approval.

P&Z members are requiring that a dark red color, known as Williamsburg Red, be the surface color on all galvanized metallic surfaces on the building's exterior. The facade's galvanized surfaces include a broad awning, an ornamental cornice, and some pillars.

The P&Z is requiring the applicant to cooperate with town officials to preserve as many significant trees at the site as possible. Additionally, the applicant will be required to construct a four-foot-tall chain link fence that is approximately 170 feet long on the north side of the site, between the site and the residential property at 112 South Main Street. The northern and southern sides of the site that border residential properties will have evergreen hedgerows planted.

To soften the appearance of the concrete-block structure, the applicant must cooperate with the town on the placement of some simulated barn shutters on the northern and southern sides of the store.

The building's façade will include some simulated clapboard siding made of a durable cementitous material. The building's exterior would be mostly tan concrete block, with some brown concrete block positioned near ground level, accented by a prominent horizontal red stripe.

In modified building plans that NERP has submitted, the vestibule on the building's façade would be capped with a gambrel-style gable, instead of a conventional gable, providing a barnlike architectural element in the design.

Voting in favor of the site development plan were P&Z Chairman Robert Mulholland, Vice Chairman Jim Swift, Donald Mitchell, Corinne Cox, and Barbara Manville.

At a July 7 P&Z public hearing, Mr Swift had raised a range of questions about the appropriateness of the Tractor Supply exterior design, asking whether the then-proposed architecture met the terms of the SMVDD zoning rules, which the P&Z created in 2007 to foster architectural designs that would "support the New England character" of the South Main Street corridor.

Mr Swift had then urged that the store's exterior design be improved to have it reflect the intent of the SMVDD regulations, through the use of materials such as brick and barn siding.

Ms Cox on July 21 suggested that the store be designed to look like a red barn. But James Cassidy, an engineer for the applicant, responded that it would not be practical to give such a large structure a barnlike appearance.

 

No Design Board Input

Mr Swift said July 22 that because the town's Design Advisory Board (DAB) was not able to review the SMVDD project's aesthetics and make recommendations to the P&Z, such an aesthetic review fell to the P&Z itself.

The DAB currently has only one regular member - architect/engineer Philip Clark. The DAB's full complement is three regular members and two alternates. The group is comprised of design experts who advise the P&Z on architectural design and landscaping.

Mr Swift said the several changes which were made in exterior design involved modifying the appearance of the building's facade. "They [applicant] heard what I was saying, to a point," he said. "It could have been better… It's a compromise."

Mr Swift said he would like to see the DAB have a full membership so that it could aid the P&Z in reviewing such applications for properties within the town's several design districts.

Commenting on the economic aspect of the project, Mr Swift said, "This is a good retailer for this spot, and for Newtown."

Mr Swift added that the store merchandise that would be positioned in the outdoor display area along the northern wall of the building would visually shield the concrete-block wall there. The architectural drawings presented by the applicant did not depict such merchandise.