Date: Fri 12-Apr-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Rocky-Glen-Mill-Wright

Full Text:

Zone Change For Rocky Glen Mill Draws Mixed Response

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

A proposal for a change of zone for Rocky Glen Mill from Industrial (M-4) to

Sandy Hook Design District (SHDD) to allow a business to sell antiques there

drew both opposition and support at a Planning and Zoning Commision (P&Z)

public hearing.

Glenmill Corporation, the owner of the historic building at 75 Glen Road,

commonly known as Fabric Fire Hose, is seeking P&Z approval for changing the

zoning on the 12-acre parcel to increase the potential uses of the property.

The P&Z took no action on the request.

The P&Z created the SHDD mixed-use zone last summer to stimulate economic

development in the business district in Sandy Hook Center. The SHDD zone

requested by Glenmill Corporation would be a separate zone lying about one

mile northeast of the existing SHDD zone. The mill property borders

residentailly-zoned and industrially-zoned properties.

Sandra Wright, one of the three principals in the corporation, said the town's

M-4 Industrial zoning regulations aren't broad enough to allow a retail

antiques shop in the mill. The mill is primarily used as an office building.

Some sections of the old mill aren't suitable for use as office space, Mrs

Wright said. Some parts of the building have never been leased because they

couldn't be put to appropriate uses, she added.

Mrs Wright noted the corporation had a 600-foot-deep well drilled earlier this

year which supplies the building with 7.5 gallons of water per minute. Until

the new well provided a reliable source of potable water, the mill had been

under health department orders to provide bottled water to workers at the

60,000-square-foot office building.

Mrs Wright said obtaining a change of zone from M-4 to SHDD to open a

7,000-square-foot antiques center in the old mill would result in a mutually

benefical financial relationship between businesses in Sandy Hook Center and

the old mill.

In a letter to the P&Z, Lyndon Thomas, chairman of the town's Economic

Development Commission (EDC), stated that EDC members endorse the proposed

change of zone.

Mrs Wright said creating an antiques center in the building would be

"absolutely perfect for the space."

P&Z member Todd Richardson noted that the town's SHDD zoning regulations allow

motels as a land use. He asked whether Glenmill Corporation plans such a use

for the old mill.

Mrs Wright responded the corporation isn't interested in a motel use of the

building.

Questions Posed

Glen Road residents John and Judy Leko asked what might happen if a change of

zone to SHDD is granted and the corporation later sells the old mill to

someone else.

"It's a mixed-use zone which allows for an awful lot of things," P&Z Chairman

Stephen Adams responded.

Mrs Leko then stated her objection to the proposed change of zone.

Another Glen Road resident, Eugene Garriepy asked whether granting a change of

zone for the old mill would set a precedent that would lead to requests from

other applicants for small, individual SHDD zones in parts of Sandy Hook where

economic development is desired.

Mr Garriepy asked within what geographical area SHDD zones can be created,

saying he feared that such zoning could lead to commercial strip-style

development.

"I fear this proposal... I have a concern about the environmental impact...

This is downgrading a (M-4) zone," he said.

Mr Garriepy asked about provisions for parking, security on the property,

noise levels and the amount of undergound drinking water available in the

area.

Jane Cottingham of Blackman Road spoke in favor of opening an antiques center

in the old mill. "I can't think of a better use for this space. I think it's a

fabulous idea."

Morgen McLaughlin, representing the Sandy Hook Organization for Prosperity

(SHOP), said "This is a phenomenal idea."

Ms McLaughlin, the manager of McLaughlin Vineyards on Alberts Hill Road, said

she was surprised that anyone would oppose Glenmill Corporation's proposal.

Placing an antiques center in the old mill would economically benefit both the

corporation and merchants in Sandy Hook Center, she said.

An antiques center would a "big commercial draw" which would stimulate buiness

in Sandy Hook Center, she said. "It would be ludricrous to shoot this down,"

she said.

In response to public comments on the change of zone proposal, Mrs Wright said

the exterior of the old mill wouldn't be altered because it has been named to

the National Register of Historic Places.

Fine quality 18th- and 19th-century furniture would be sold at an antiques

center, she said. An antiques center wouldn't attract a lot of traffic because

of the nature of the business, she said. The corporation is seeking to attract

antiques buyers from lower Fairfield County to Rocky Glen Mill, she said,

adding that those people would also patronize Sandy Hook Center businesses.

Mrs Wright explained that she would be the proprietor of the antiques

business. She also runs an antiques shop in New Canaan.

The Rocky Glen site holds sufficent parking for the envisioned new land use,

she said.

Mrs Wright said the corporation views a chnage of zone from M-4 to SHDD as a

zoning upgrade, not a zoning downgrade.

Kenneth Wright, Mrs Wright's husband and a principal in the corporation, said

Rocky Glen Mill is a fine historical building, but has been owned by companies

which had financial problems during the past decade. Glenmill Corporation

bought the old mill in February 1995 from a bank which was disposing of it as

part of a bankruptcy proceeding.

Mr Wright said the corporation seeks to attract "upscale" tenants to the old

mill in Newtown. The Wrights are Redding residents.

"We have worked very hard to clean up the property," Mrs Wright said of

various steps the corporation has taken to rectify problems at the site.