The Planning & Zoning Commission approved an amendment to its approval of a site plan at 135-139 Mt Pleasant Road by Paul Hilario at its Thursday, August 19, meeting.

Land Use Director George Benson told The Newtown Bee on August 24 that the revisions changed some of the language to clarify conditions of approval. The revisions came about after Hilario appealed the approval because he “did not like some of the conditions.”

“The revisions give us some more clarity on what [Hilario] can store on the property and where he can store it,” said Benson. “The rest of the approval remains as is.”

The original approval was for three buildings, to be built in phases, that would be used to store vehicles, including towing vehicles and vehicles in need of repairs, for Hilario’s Service Center, Inc. According to the company’s Facebook page, it is an auto and truck repair facility specializing in heavy vehicle recovery, machinery transport, and towing services.

The property where the three buildings are being constructed is adjacent to the service center’s property at 131 Mt Pleasant Road and behind the property that is home to Thai Delight at 133 Mt Pleasant Road. The site plan calls for 21 car spaces, 40 tractor-trailer spaces, and two trailer spaces.

According to Hilario, the plan is for the towing business to move to the new property and for the gas station site to be sold to a new owner and re-opened.

“We’re a bit cramped at the gas station,” Hilario said. “This is going to be a lot better.”

Benson said that with an appeal, the commission tries to work things out with the applicant before the appeal gets to court. Benson said working things out was easier in this case since it was amending an approval rather than reversing a denial.

“No one wins in court,” said Benson. “No one ends up happy.”

Benson stated that the commission’s main concern was what could be seen from Mt Pleasant Road; the commission did not want broken-down vehicles parked near the road. The amendments create a “better enforcement of parking” and more landscaping to control parking of vehicles.

The amendments to the original approval of December 3, 2020, are:

The condition that reads, “Outdoor storage of non-fleet vehicles is prohibited;” is amended to state, “Outdoor storage of non-fleet vehicles is prohibited, the term ‘storage’ does not include the parking of towed vehicles, vehicles under repair, and fleet vehicles.”

The condition that reads, “Removal of all unregistered vehicles and non-fleet vehicles on properties before any building permits are issued” is deleted.

The condition that reads, “No vehicle storage or parking of vehicles outside of designated parking spaces” is amended to state, “No vehicle storage or parking of vehicles outside of designated marked areas.”

The condition that reads, “No outside parking of more than three fleet vehicles” is deleted.

The following condition is added as a new condition: The area occupied by the proposed front building shall be stabilized with grass, and may not be used for parking of vehicles, until such time as construction commences on that building.”

Benson stated that since the proposed front building was not being constructed in the first phase of the project, the commission did not want cars parked in that area, so they are calling for that area to be grassy and not utilized for parking.

The original application, a special exemption and site development plan, sought to permit the construction of buildings to store trucks and equipment and to perform repairs.

The motion for the original approval in December 2020 stated that it “is hereby found consistent with the plan of conservation and development and the comprehensive plan, and shall be approved with the following conditions: removal of all storage containers on all proposed properties, unless permits are acquired; interior wash bays shall be for fleet vehicles only; outdoor storage of non-fleet vehicles is prohibited; removal of all unregistered vehicles and non-fleet vehicles on properties before any building permits are issued; removal of all unpermitted lighting and signage on properties before any building permits are issued; no vehicle storage or parking of vehicles outside of designated marked spaces; no site work may occur without building permits issued; no outside parking of more than three fleet vehicles.”

At the December 2020 meeting, P&Z member Dennis Bloom asked what the timeline would be for constructing the front building.

Hilario responded, “Honestly, I don’t know. I want to get that center building up, catch my breath… If I had the money right now, I’d be doing both. I just don’t want to get ahead of myself with the current economic climate.”

When asked if the front building will be the second building constructed after the center one, Hilario said he could not give a yes or no answer. He did say that he will strongly consider it as an option and look into the costs.

Reporter Jim Taylor can be reached at jim@thebee.com.