Sandy Hook Center—

Property Owners Seek To Shape Design Guidelines

By Andrew Gorosko

A group of Sandy Hook Center commercial property owners plans to meet soon with members of a town advisory panel to discuss their concerns about a set of proposed architectural and landscape design guidelines for the Sandy Hook Design District (SHDD).

The property owners have said that the proposed guidelines, which were formulated by the Design Advisory Board (DAB), may make new commercial development and redevelopment in the SHDD zone in Sandy Hook Center overly complex, and potentially too costly.

The SHDD zoning regulations, which were created in 1995, are intended to encourage a diversity of compatible uses in Sandy Hook Center to enforce the district as a historic, mixed-use hamlet functioning as a neighborhood commercial hub, which is also attractive to visitors.

The SHDD zoning regulations emphasize the value of the pedestrian scale, historic quality, and natural resources of the area. The regulations seek to encourage mixed-use development that places housing near employment, shopping, and services. The SHDD regulations are flexible rules intended to encourage the creation of public walkways, bicycle paths, shared off-street parking lots, and landscaped public spaces.

At a recent Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) session, P&Z Chairman William O’Neil said that the P&Z asked the DAB to create a set of design guidelines to clearly describe the character of commercial development that the P&Z desires for Sandy Hook Center. “We’re trying to set the tone,” Mr O’Neil said.

Attorney Robert Accomando, representing several Sandy Hook Center property owners, told P&Z members that his clients recognize the benefit of having design guidelines, but want the guidelines proposal withdrawn from P&Z consideration until his clients can discuss the topic with DAB members.

Mr Accomando said the proposed guidelines are somewhat ambiguous and vague, and pose a “burdensome quality” for his clients. The lawyer has formulated a revised version of those guidelines for P&Z review.

Mr O’Neil said there is no need for the P&Z to withdraw its SHDD guideline proposal from consideration. The subject has been the topic of two P&Z public hearings. When the P&Z submits an application to itself for review, such as the SHDD design guidelines application, the agency is not subject to the various time schedules for action that are in force when private parties submit applications.

Mr Accomando submitted a petition to the P&Z that seeks to force the agency to attain a “super majority” in order to approve a set of SHDD design guidelines. In such a case, the P&Z would need a majority of four of its five members to approve design guidelines, instead of a typical majority of three members.

Mr Accomando pointed out that there are differences between the property owners’ version of the design guidelines and the DAB’s version.

“We’re looking for a collaborative effort,” the lawyer said.

DAB Chairman George Reichert said that comments from property owners on design guidelines are “desirable.”

DAB members plan to meet with the property owners at 6:30 pm on September 14 at the town offices at 31 Peck’s Lane. At some future date, the design guidelines proposal would be the subject of a third P&Z public hearing.

In a joint letter to the P&Z, the Sandy Hook Center commercial property owners state, in part, that they would ultimately decide whether to invest money in renovating and enhancing Sandy Hook Center.

“Guidelines which are unnecessarily burdensome, vague, or are inconsistent with other applicable land use standards act to substantially undercut continued development and preservation efforts, and effectively reduce existing property values. That result is exactly opposite to the stated guidelines’ objectives and the community’s best interests,” they add. About 20 people signed the letter to the P&Z.

The DAB’s proposed guidelines address many topics, including site planning, setbacks, pedestrian access, parking, vehicular traffic, public spaces, landscaping, landscape buffers, site amenities, walls, fences, lighting, street lighting, curbing, sidewalks, fixtures, building heights, rooflines, roofing materials, appearances, building size and scale, building entrances, exterior building materials, doors, windows, storefront windows, applied materials, signs, and also the use of wood, brick, stone, paint, and stain.