Planning & Zoning Reviews Highland Plaza Redevelopment Project

By Andrew Gorosko

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) is reviewing a proposal for the redevelopment of the South Main Street site that formerly held The Fireside Inn into the planned Highland Plaza.

At a November 1 P&Z public hearing, architect/engineer Peder Scott, representing Highland HC, LLC, described the developer’s proposal for an almost 60,000-square-foot, three-building complex on the sloping site in a B-2 (Business) zone at 121-125 South Main Street.

The developer has a related application pending before the Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC).

Last March, the P&Z approved the initial phase of Highland Plaza, endorsing the developer’s plans to extensively renovate and reconstruct the building that formerly held The Fireside Inn. The Fireside Inn was a popular restaurant, banquet hall, and catering facility, which closed for business and was sold in 2006 for redevelopment.

Highland LLC has been reconstructing the former Fireside Inn building, which will hold new retail/restaurant uses. An as-yet unnamed restaurant is planned for the section of the building nearest South Main Street. The renovated Fireside Inn building encloses about 33,000 square feet of space.

Two additional structures are proposed for the eight-acre property. A new 22,000-square-foot building would hold retail space. A new 3,000-square-foot building situated in a parking lot would hold a bank.

“We are looking at a village concept,” Mr Scott said of the developer’s desire to create a villagelike atmosphere at the commercial complex. The developer has not disclosed what tenants would occupy the plaza.

Mr Scott told P&Z members that the State Health Department is reviewing the proposed location for a new large-scale septic system that would serve the commercial complex. The existing septic system is inadequate, he said.

Also, the State Traffic Commission has the project’s vehicle-access aspects under review, he said. South Main Street is state Route 25. The site lies just north of the hazardous five-legged intersection of South Main Street, Cedar Hill Road, Peck’s Lane, and Prospect Drive.

Unlike the initial phase of the redevelopment project, which was approved by the P&Z last March, the  proposal currently under consideration by the P&Z would fall under the Special Development District (SDD) section of the P&Z’s South Main Street Village Design District (SMSVDD) zoning regulations.

Last July, after several years of discussion, the P&Z enacted the SMSVDD zoning regulations to more tightly control commercial design on frontage lots located along South Main Street in order to preserve the area’s New England visual character.

As part of its redevelopment application, the developer is seeking to modify the zoning regulations with some changes that would apply only to the 121-125 South Main Street site.

Mr Scott asked that the P&Z modify its rules on signage pertaining to the commercial complex.

P&Z Chairman Lilla Dean suggested that the developer rework its proposal for signage to provide for visually simpler signs near the street and more detailed signs in the parking lot.

“We’re trying to make this [project] look good,” she noted.

Through the SMSVDD zoning regulations, the P&Z is seeking to keep prevent “visual clutter” from occurring at new development along South Main Street, Ms Dean said. She noted that such clutter exists in many places along that street.

“The way things look from the street is a very important [concern] for us,” she said.

 Ms Dean noted the P&Z is seeking legal advice from its attorney concerning the fairness of the P&Z’s application review processes for SMSVDD zoning and SDD zoning. The P&Z chairman noted that Highland Plaza is the first commercial project to fall under the provisions of those recently approved zoning regulations.

Ms Dean urged that Mr Scott submit the developer’s signage proposal for the project to the town’s Design Advisory Board (DAB) for aesthetic review and comment.

Under applicable zoning regulations, the DAB advises the P&Z and developers on the visual appropriateness of proposed commercial development in the town’s three commercial design districts.

The P&Z plans to resume the public hearing on the Highland Plaza project on November 15.