P&Z Extends Special Permit For

Commerce Road Office Building

By Andrew Gorosko

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) has extended the time period allowed for construction of an 18,000-square-foot office building on Commerce Rd.

P&Z members February 15 voted 4-to-1 to approve a request from Charter Communications to grant it a one-year extension to a special exception to the zoning regulations which the P&Z had granted in March 2000 to The Harrison Group for construction of the two-story office building.

Charter, a cable television company, has purchased the two-acre site at 9 Commerce Road from The Harrison Group. The site is on the east side of Commerce Road, on the sharp curve in the road lying between the post office and Charter Communications.

In a February 14 letter to the P&Z, Raymond Kowalinski, Charter’s regional vice president for technical operations, wrote, “We have recently purchased this property and wish to transfer the special exception permit into our name. We also request that the commission grant a one-year extension for this special exception.”

Engineer Larry Edwards, representing Charter, told P&Z members that planning is underway to construct the 18,000-square foot building which was approved by the P&Z last March.

The Harrison Group, of Glen Road in Sandy Hook, which is a market research and consulting firm, moved out of the area to an existing building because it needed additional space immediately, Mr Edwards said. Mr Edwards had represented Harrison before the P&Z last March.

Charter needs new space in the form of an 18,000-square-foot office building next to its existing Commerce Road building, Mr Edwards said. Such added space would allow the firm to consolidate area functions in Newtown, he said.

Mr Edwards stressed that Charter would construct the new office buildings to the specifications approved by the P&Z last March.

Charter may eventually physically link the new building to its existing building next door, he said.

P&Z members then voted on the requested one-year extension of the special permit to construct the office building, with members Robert Poulin, Lilla Dean, Daniel Fogliano, and Anthony Klabonski voting in favor and James Boylan opposed.

Mr Boylan had questioned whether, after Charter received an extended permit, it would return to the P&Z seeking to change the development plans for the site.

Mr Boylan had also questioned the practicality of physically connecting the new building to the existing building.

Until now, the site has not been developed due to poor soils. The availability of sanitary sewers makes its development possible. The office building will be constructed on a concrete slab. It is in an M-5 zone. The site will contain 60 parking spaces.