Volpe Seeks Special Exception For Commercial Building

By Andrew Gorosko

A local businesswoman is seeking a special exception to the zoning regulations from the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) to build a 6,065-square-foot commercial building in the environmentally sensitive Aquifer Protection District (APD) near the Pootatuck River, just north of Sand Hill Plaza.

Judith Volpe proposes construction of the retail-office building on a 1.7-acre site at 224 South Main Street, on the corner of South Main Street and Bryan Lane. Bryan Lane formerly was known as Washbrook Road.

Ms Volpe received a change of zone for the property from “residential” to “business” from the P&Z in mid-1997. She then applied to the Conservation Commission to develop the property, but encountered problems with that application.

In a letter to the P&Z, Conservation Official C. Stephen Driver wrote that conservation members reviewed three development proposals for the property from Ms Volpe during a two-year period. They rejected two larger, more intensive versions of the project for environmental reasons, before endorsing the current scaled-down version last October.

Following the Conservation Commission’s March 1999 rejection of her second development proposal, Ms Volpe sued the commission in seeking to have a judge overturn its rejection of her plans.

The current proposal involves no construction in the floodplain of the Pootatuck River, a significant difference compared to previous plans.

Although Ms Volpe has received Conservation Commission approval for construction work near wetlands, she still needs commission approval for construction work in the APD. That APD review was slated for a February 9 Conservation Commission meeting.

In a report to the P&Z, I.K. Chann Associates of Wilton, a traffic engineering firm, states that traffic entering and leaving the proposed commercial building parking lots would have a minimal effect on South Main Street traffic flow.

Engineer Larry Edwards, representing Ms Volpe, explained to P&Z members February 3 that Ms Volpe  scaled down the development project after the P&Z approved stricter aquifer protection regulations for the APD in June 1999.

An earlier version of the project proposed a 9,500-square-foot building with 53 parking spaces. The latest version proposes a 6,065-square-foot building with 35 parking spaces.

“Obviously, this project has been scaled down,” Mr Edwards said. Current plans call for a two-story building in the Colonial style with vinyl clapboard siding. The two-story building would be built on a slope with direct access to both levels. A house on the site would be demolished to make way for new construction.

Ms Volpe reduced scope of the project keeping in mind its proximity to wetlands and to United Water’s public water supply wellhead which is just across South Main Street, Mr Edwards said.

Avance Esthetiques, a day spa that Ms Volpe owns at the nearby Sand Hill Plaza, would not be located in the commercial building, Mr Edwards said.

Ms Volpe’s previous plans to relocate the day spa to the proposed commercial building proved a stumbling block in past applications to the Conservation Commission. Commission members questioned the use of various toxic chemicals by the spa in an environmentally sensitive area across the street from the United Water wellhead. United Water opposed previous versions of the development proposal on environmental grounds.  United Water has endorsed the latest version of the development plan.

The proposed building would be used strictly for retail sales and offices, Mr Edwards said.

The new version of the project seeks to minimize physical disturbances to the site in meeting Conservation Commission requirements, Mr Edwards said. He said the applicant hopes the plans will not have to be scaled down any further to gain a P&Z approval.

When it rejected two earlier versions of her development project, Conservation Commission members told Ms Volpe the project should be scaled back in light of its proximity to the wellhead for United Water. In January 1998, Conservation Commission members turned down the initial development proposal, citing the extensive earth moving required by the project in the environmentally sensitive area.

No members of the public spoke on the Volpe development proposal at the February 3 P&Z public hearing. P&Z members are awaiting word from the Conservation Commission on whether the proposal passes its aquifer environmental review.

P&Z members asked Mr Edwards to provide design plans for signs that would advertise businesses in the commercial building.