Date: Fri 11-Jul-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

P&Z-Curtis-Packaging-warehouse

Full Text:

Curtis Packaging Seeks Permission For Sandy Hook Warehouse

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

Curtis Packaging Corporation is seeking a zone change which would allow it to

prepare a proposal for construction of a new building at its Berkshire

Road/Toddy Hill Road complex.

Curtis wants to rezone eight acres it owns adjacent to its manufacturing plant

from R-1 Residential to M-4 Industrial.

The land which the company wants rezoned has been used for sand-and-gravel

mining.

Attorney Robert Hall, representing Curtis Packaging, told Planning and Zoning

Commission (P&Z) members July 2 the company expanded its facilities in 1960,

again during the 1970s, and again in 1983.

If the company is to continue growing and remain viable, it needs the zone

change to allow the land to be used for industrial purposes, Mr Hall said.

Curtis CEO Don Droppo explained to P&Z members the company manufactures

various boxes for consumer products such as golf balls, children's clay,

fashion products and tools.

Due to a lack of space at its Sandy Hook facility, Curtis has had to rent

expensive warehouse space in Waterbury, Mr Droppo said.

Curtis wants to build an approximately 40,000-square-foot

warehouse/distribution building on its property because it makes better

financial sense to do that than renting warehouse space in Waterbury, he said.

Bill Peck, head of Curtis's finance department, said granting a zone change to

the company, which employs 175 people, would be a positive move.

Jim Wark, Curtis's engineering chief, said the company needs a place to expand

in Sandy Hook. Having Curtis Packaging in Newtown is an asset to the town, he

said.

Curtis has had a long commitment to Newtown, Mr Hall said. Granting a zone

change to allow construction of a new industrial building wouldn't pose

problems to any actively-used residential property in the area, he said.

The land the company wants to use for expansion is flat because it has been

mined out, he said.

Only one member of the public spoke at the July 2 hearing on the zone change

request. He said that after having reviewed conceptual plans for the Curtis

expansion project, he is less concerned than he had been that the project

would hurt residential properties along Berkshire Road.

P&Z members are expected to act on the zone change request at an upcoming

session.