Discussion occasionally became strained as a local Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) subcommittee convened its second special meeting October 6 to discuss a possible text amendment in local regulations for warehouse and distribution centers.

P&Z members present included chair Dennis Bloom, Gregory Rich, and Brian Leonardi, as well as Land Use Agency Director of Planning George Benson.

The group invited three guest speakers to the meeting: Newtown residents Doreen Trimarchi, Jody Eldredge, and Michael Criscuolo, all of whom are part of a grassroots advocacy group called Newtown Neighbors Alliance, LLC.

The meeting was prompted by the recent denial of Application 22.20, which was submitted by Trimarchi on behalf of Newtown Neighbors Alliance, LLC. It proposed a six-month moratorium on warehouses/distribution centers and garnered much public participation.

At the start of the meeting, Trimarchi distributed a packet of information that detailed how the regulations currently define warehouses.

“Then Jody created this,” Trimarchi said, referring to the second page in the packet she handed out. “[She] went through as many warehouses in town that she could find and their information. She basically did it from the GIS map.”

She noted there is a wide range of warehouse sizes in town. The paperwork included numbers of truck bays, parking spaces, and hours of operation for those warehouses.

“I thought this was good information to see where we are and that we have a lot of warehouses already in Newtown,” Trimarchi said.

The submitted information was attached, in full, to the meeting minutes.

As Trimarchi began to explain how the purpose of this gathered data is to “support responsible development” and “preserve Newtown’s rural New England roots,” Rich stopped her.

He said that the commissioners know that she does not like or want any more applications like the “Wharton proposal,” referring to a recent special exception application by Wharton Equity Partners, LLC, to build a 344,880 square foot warehouse. That application was ultimately denied.

“So, talking about retaining our classic New England charm is not impervious to defining a warehouse. Your goal is to ensure that nothing like that is ever considered again,” Rich said.

Trimarchi said, “All of our goal, I think we agree on that, right?”

To which Rich responded, “No,” and that it is not what they are here to talk about.

Bloom added that if someone applies for a million square foot building, they still have to listen to it.

“Listen, we’ve had 15 hours of this from all of our constituents. We don’t need anymore,” Rich said. “We know that you don’t want it.”

Trimarchi responded, “I’m only quoting from the Plan of Conservation and Development Executive Summary on page four.”

Leonardi said, to piggyback off Bloom and Rich, that while some people believe they as a board represent residents, “that is not technically true … we are in essence almost acting as proxies for the town and almost in a judicial capacity.”

He added, “Going back to what you were saying about the Plan of Conservation and Development, the Plan of Conservation and Development also specifically says that the Hawleyville section has been identified as an area for additional industrial use, and the town has spent a significant amount of money to facilitate that through infrastructure.”

Proposed Changes

Benson asked that the speakers go over the changes to the zoning regulations that they suggest.

Trimarchi started off by saying for General 1, Section 2, they would like to add “Warehouse” to the definitions section, specifically:

*Warehouse: A building used primarily for the receipt, long-term storage, sorting of goods and materials. None of the items stored should be flammable or toxic materials. The facility should operate during normal business hours, Monday through Friday.

*Warehouse Use: If square footage exceeds 200,000 square feet, [it] should not exceed a ratio of two transit facilities/bays/loading docks for each 100,000 square feet of Warehouse Use Area or should not be designed to have more than 100 warehouse employees during normal [business] hours.

Trimarchi began to say how these definitions would help lessen traffic, when Rich interrupted, “Again, you’re not wanting to define warehouse. You are wanting to make sure nothing like Wharton gets built.”

When she began to explain how the Wharton building itself would have “been fine,” but she had concerns about the tractor trailer bays, Rich stopped her again.

“We made an informed decision that the folks hired us to do,” he said. “You voted us into office. We have to work within the constraints of the regulations and have to give due process to everybody ... what you are doing here is targeting specifically any sort of facility like that. You are not clarifying warehouse. You are limiting warehouse.”

Bloom added how he drove tractor trailers for 25 years and had “been to some of the largest warehouses in the country,” but never saw more than 200 trucks in a day.

Benson voiced that he does not want to get “bogged down with back-and-forth” right now. He asked that the speakers continue and clarify their proposed ratio of two loading docks per 100,000 square feet of building size.

Trimarchi replied they are trying to “minimize it” from what is currently allowed.

Benson said, “Anytime you put a number on anything in a regulation, you have to go back and say, ‘Where did I get the number from?’ That’s what’s difficult about it.”

The group discussed concerns about truck traffic impacting the already traffic-prone areas in town like Church Hill Road. Benson brought up that they can consider making all warehouses special exceptions.

On that note, Criscuolo said that when doing his research, he came across a town that requires warehouses to be a certain square footage to get a special exception and plan approval.

Leonardi then asked Benson, “If we make all warehouses special exception and there [have] already been zones where warehouses are an approved use, do we run the risk of property owners coming back because they had a legitimate expectation that they could utilize that property for that approved purpose and now we are taking that away from them?”

Benson said he is not sure, but it can be looked into.

Increased Setbacks

Trimarchi went on to say that other proposed changes include removing the terms “distribution facility” or distribution center” from the zoning regulations to keep “warehouse” as the consistent wordage.

She added, “I’d like to see increased setbacks.”

The proposed setback information stated: Increased setbacks for industrial and commercial zones abutting residential properties. Parking and building that are adjacent to or bordering a residential zone or properties (being used as residential) the commercial and industrial development should be set back for any residential property at 200 feet for building structure and 150 feet from a parking lot to protect property values.

Trimarchi cited examples on Main Street and South Main Street, as well as properties near the Wharton proposal.

Rich said that while setbacks deserve a discussion, he felt they do not apply to the definition of a warehouse.

Bloom voiced that he does like the idea of setbacks.

‘A Lot Of Work’

Trimarchi proposed creating a new section that details, in part, prohibiting “types of warehouses other than long-term such as, but not limited to, distribution center, truck hub, high-cube warehouse, freight terminals, or other similar high-volume capacity facilities throughout all zones.”

“You are trying to prohibit what it is that you don’t want,” Rich said. “The purpose of this meeting is to define a warehouse.”

Benson said the dictionary includes all these terms for a warehouse.

When going on to discuss the next section of proposed changes, pertaining to requiring traffic reports, Rich told Trimarchi that it does not apply to defining a warehouse.

“We don’t have purview over traffic,” Rich said.

“I’m trying to protect the town … I don’t want to have to come to every P&Z meeting as a watchdog to make sure that this doesn’t happen again,” Trimarchi said.

“That’s your responsibility as a homeowner … to keep yourself informed,” Rich said.

There was then a discussion about the Wharton application and Benson interjected, “We are getting way off track.”

He noted that there are elements of the proposal that he finds good and would be interested in bringing to the attention of the Land Use Agency, but the subcommittee’s charge is specifically formed to look at the definition of a warehouse.

“You’ve done a lot of work. Thank you for it,” Benson said to the speakers present.

P&Z’s next regularly scheduled meeting is set to take place on Thursday, October 20, at 7 pm, in the Newtown Municipal Council Chambers.

To learn more about the P&Z, visit newtown-ct.gov/planning-zoning-commission.

Reporter Alissa Silber can be reached at alissa@thebee.com.