UPDATE (Monday, March 16, 2020): The March 19 Planning & Zoning Commission public hearing has been canceled.

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The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) has rescheduled a public hearing on a developer’s proposal for a 14,000-square-foot retail center at 32 Berkshire Road (Route 34), near Exit 11 of Interstate 84.

The hearing is now scheduled for 7:30 pm on Thursday, March 19, at Newtown Senior Center, 8 Simpson Street. The matter initially had been slated for March 5, but the developer requested a postponement.

The developer is proposing the construction of a 14,000-square-foot retail center, including a 2,800-square-foot restaurant, at a 3.07-acre site in a heavily traveled area at the intersection of Berkshire Road and Toddy Hill Road.

Applicant James F. Walsh of Yearling Lane, who owns the site, is the developer. Walsh is seeking a site development plan approval and a special zoning permit for the project from the P&Z. The project has the working name Coach’s Corner.

The development site would have two access points. The primary access, which would be a regular two-way driveway for entering and exiting vehicles, would be located on the west side of Toddy Hill Road, about 135 feet south of its T-intersection with Berkshire Road.

A secondary dual-lane accessway would be located on the south side of Berkshire Road, about 340 feet west of the Berkshire Road/Toddy Hill Road intersection.

The retail complex is being proposed in conjunction with the state Department of Transportation’s (DOT) planned $17.7 million Exit 11 area roadway improvement project. That long-awaited infrastructure project had been slated to start during the coming construction season, but has been delayed to the 2021 construction season based on two factors: a previously unanticipated need for additional planning on stormwater drainage control and the need to relocate certain public utilities to make way for construction.

The roadway improvements, which have been in the planning stages for more than 20 years, are key to enhancing traffic flow in the area.

A traffic report prepared by Solli Engineering LLC of Monroe for the developer of Coach’s Corner states that an anticipated increase in traffic flow associated with the proposed development can be accommodated in connection with the planned DOT roadway improvements in the area.

In September 2019, Walsh received two requested changes of zone for the site from the P&Z. That P&Z action changed the zoning designation for 32 Berkshire Road from M-5 (industrial) to B-2 (general business). It also conditionally changed the zoning designation on the landlocked 0.118-acre state-owned parcel from R-2 (residential) to B-2.

Also in September 2019, the Zoning Board of Appeals conditionally approved a front-yard setback zoning variance for Walsh.

Notably in June 2019, Walsh had proposed that drive-through window service at an eatery be allowed at a retail center there, but P&Z members rejected that proposal.

Claris Construction would be the firm that constructs the project. The main structure would be built on a northwest/southeast axis, with the restaurant located at the southeast end of the building, near the Toddy Hill Road driveway. Engineering drawings indicate seven tenant spaces in the building. The site would have 88 parking spaces.

Among the many improvements planned for DOT’s Exit 11 area roadway project, a section of Berkshire Road would be widened to better handle heavy traffic; an auxiliary Exit 11 on-ramp extending from westbound Berkshire Road would provide motorists with more direct access to both eastbound and westbound I-84 than is currently provided; and the sharp geometry of the tightly curved Exit 11 interchange off-ramp would be improved as a traffic safety measure.