Developer Proposes Industrial Complex Off Edmond Road

By Andrew Gorosko

A development firm is seeking approvals from town land use agencies for a change of zone and also for a wetlands permit, which would be preliminary steps toward its envisioned construction of almost 180,000 square feet of industrial space off Edmond Road for the storage of construction equipment, warehousing, and office space.

In an application to the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z), 5-K Enterprises, Inc, seeks approval to change the industrial zoning from M-2 to M-5 for a wet, undeveloped 27-acre parcel on the west side of Edmond Road, which is a private road. The site lies in a wooded area behind the Newtown Shell Service gas station at 67 Church Hill Road.

The P&Z is scheduled to conduct a public hearing on the requested change of zone on September 1.

In a letter to the P&Z, attorney Robert Hall, representing 5-K Enterprises, states that his client intends to use the property “primarily for multi-tenant buildings for storage of construction equipment.”

The current owners of the site, Harriet B. Edwards, Trustee, and Reid S. and Nancy C. Barker Family Limited Partnership, endorse 5-K’s requested change of zone, Mr Hall wrote.

“Over the years, there have been various proposals to use this property, at least one of which was for a shopping center, but none have come to fruition,” he wrote.

The proposed use of the site would provide a place for small local contracting businesses to legally store their equipment in a safe and secure environment rather than in backyards, Mr Hall adds.

Also on September 1, the P&Z is scheduled to hold a public hearing on a separate request from American Wire Corporation of 1 Wire Road to change the zoning designation from M-2 to M-5 on an approximately five-acre parcel that it owns. The American Wire parcel directly abuts the 27-acre Edmond Road parcel.

In a letter to the P&Z, attorney Loreto Crisorio, representing American Wire, writes that the five-acre parcel holds American Wire’s production, storage, and office facilities. The company manufactures wire for a variety of uses.

“American Wire Corporation is seeking this zone change to improve the potential for development afforded in Industrial Zone M-5. Such development has the potential for increased property valuation and concurrent increased property tax revenue,” according to the attorney.

Considering that the two parcels for which changes of zone are being sought abut one another, the P&Z opted to conduct the public hearings on both rezoning proposals at the September 1 session.

5-K Enterprises

In a separate application to the Conservation Commission, which serves as the town’s wetlands agency, Mr Hall, representing 5-K Enterprises, is seeking a wetlands permit that would be required for the construction of four buildings that would hold a combined 179,625 square feet of enclosed space. The sizes of the four proposed structures are 91,875 sf, 37,500 sf, 35,250 sf, and 15,000 sf.

Such an Edmond Road warehouse/industrial complex would be constructed in two phases during a five-year period.

The applicant proposes the alteration of wetlands on the site, including the construction of four wetland crossings. Approximately 1,000 cubic yards of earthen fill would be moved in the process.

The Conservation Commission is expected to set a date for a public hearing on the wetlands application.

5-K Enterprises, Inc, is a Connecticut corporation whose shareholders are Warren Kimball and his five children, according to Mr Hall. 5-K has a purchase option to buy the Edmond Road site, he adds.

In an August 2 memorandum to the P&Z, Community Development Director Elizabeth Stocker states that the current M-2 zoning on the Edmond Road site, which is commonly known as the “Edwards property,” has not changed since the inception of local zoning in 1958.

 The site holds extensive wetlands and steep slopes, posing developmental constraints, Ms Stocker writes. Also, the site’s lack of suitable road frontage poses difficulties in creating an industrial subdivision within an M-5 zone, she adds.

The applicant wants a M-5 zoning designation, which would allow the construction of facilities for multiple tenants who would store construction equipment, have garage space and office space, she adds. The requested M-5 zoning would not allow shopping centers to be built, she notes.

Future plans to realign the southern end of Edmond Road, so that it forms a four-way intersection with Church Hill Road and Commerce Road, would require the cooperation of the Edmond Road industrial site’s owner, as well as the owners of businesses on Church Hill Road, according to Ms Stocker. The town would need to accept Edmond Road as a public road before such an intersection realignment could occur.

In an August 12 memorandum regarding American Wire’s rezoning proposal, Ms Stocker urged that both requests for rezoning be considered by the P&Z at the same time because the two affected properties abut one another.

The American Wire site does not have road frontage but has a right-of-way extending to Church Hill Road. The site’s lack of road frontage would appear to prevent its subdivision within an M-5 zone, according to Ms Stocker.

Ms Stocker notes that neither the 5-K Enterprises nor the American Wire applications for rezoning include any information on the traffic impact of such zone changes. Church Hill Road in that area poses one of the worst traffic situations in the ten-town planning region, she notes.