A local developer is seeking regulatory approvals from the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) and from the Planning & Zoning Commission (P&Z) which, if granted, would set the stage for his seeking developmental approvals from the P&Z, and possibly the Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC), to build a 10,150-square-foot retail center at a 2.86-acre site at 32 Berkshire Road (State Route 34), near the Exit 11 interchange of Interstate 84.

In June, after lengthy review, the P&Z in a 4-to-1 vote rejected that developer’s then-proposed zoning regulations, known as the Interchange Commercial Design District (ICDD) zone, which, if they had been approved, would have allowed developer James F. Walsh to seek a special zoning permit to build a retail center containing an eatery with drive-through window service there. (“Commercial Design District For Exit 11 Rejected,” The Newtown Bee, June 28, 2019.)

The retail complex currently proposed for the redevelopment of the property would contain a four-tenant building that includes a 2,250-square-foot coffee shop and three other tenants, but no drive-through window service for an eatery. The site is in the town’s environmentally sensitive Aquifer Protection District (APD). The property does not have access to municipal sanitary sewers.

Mr Walsh is seeking a zoning variance from the ZBA concerning the property’s front setback area along Berkshire Road. The ZBA is scheduled to hold a public hearing on that matter at 7:30 pm on Wednesday, September 4, at Newtown Municipal Center, 3 Primrose Street.

In his ZBA dimensional variance application, Mr Walsh asks that the ZBA allow there to be vehicle parking within the front-yard 50-foot-wide setback area on the property.

In an August 20 letter to the ZBA, Kevin Solli of Solli Engineering, representing the developer, writes that Mr Walsh is in negotiations with the state to acquire an abutting one-sixth-acre triangular landlocked parcel, which, if purchased by the developer, would allow him to increase the area to be commercially developed.

Because a municipality has the “right of first refusal” when the state is disposing of real estate that the state owns within that municipality, the Board of Selectmen would decide whether the town wants to acquire that particular one-sixth-acre parcel before the state could offer it for sale to a private party, such as Mr Walsh. The selectmen are scheduled to consider that matter when they meet at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, September 3, at Newtown Municipal Center.

In order to receive a zoning variance, an applicant must demonstrate to the ZBA that a “hardship” exists.

In his ZBA application, Mr Walsh states that as part of the state Department of Transportation’s (DOT) planned improvement of roadways in the Exit 11 area, the DOT will be acquiring some of his existing land along his Berkshire Road frontage for those roadway improvements. That planned state “taking” of Mr Walsh’s property would reduce his property’s depth to 114 feet, according to the applicant.

Having to keep parking out of a 50-foot-wide front setback area, as well as out of a 25-foot-wide rear setback area, would significantly reduce the area within which development could occur, according to the ZBA application.

“Parking is not permitted within the front building setback (area), and this significantly hurts the feasibility of providing the required number of parking spaces for any proposed development,” the application states. Plans for the project depict 56 parking spaces. Driveways for the retail complex would intersect with Berkshire Road and Toddy Hill Road.

Granting the zoning variance would allow redevelopment and the improvement of the land with a more appropriate use, the ZBA application states. The property currently is used for a wood mulching operation.

Two Changes of Zone

The P&Z has scheduled a public hearing for 7:30 pm on Thursday, September 5, at Newtown Municipal Center on Mr Walsh’s application for two separate changes of zone for the two parcels that would be part of the redevelopment project.

One proposal seeks a change of zone for 32 Berkshire Road from M-5 (Industrial) to B-2 (General Business). The other proposal seeks a change of zone for the adjacent currently state-owned parcel from R-2 (Residential) to B-2. The state parcel does not have a street number.

Although the current zoning designation of M-5 at 32 Berkshire Road would allow there to be a variety of retail uses at the site, M-5 zoning does not allow restaurants, such as the proposed coffee shop.

In the P&Z application, the developer states that the DOT road improvement project will acquire some residential properties near 32 Berkshire Road, reducing the residential nature of the area and, in effect, encouraging commercial development there.

The proposed zone changes would result in retail businesses that are not currently available in the area, it adds, pointing out that 32 Berkshire Road is not a desirable place for residential development. The proposed zone changes are consistent with the 2014 Town Plan of Conservation and Development, according to the developer.

The project would provide increased access to retail/restaurant facilities for residents and people who work in that area, the application states.

The DOT’s $17.7-million Exit 11 roadway improvement project is slated to start in the fall of 2020 and be completed sometime in 2022. The improvements, which have been in the planning stages for more than 20 years, are keyed to enhancing traffic flow in an area known for its congestion and long backups during the morning and evening commuter rush periods. Improvements will include the widening of a section of Berkshire Road, the construction of an auxiliary Exit 11 on-ramp extending from westbound Berkshire Road to provide motorists with access to both eastbound and westbound I-84, and improving the geometry of the existing Exit 11 off-ramp and on-ramp, among other changes.