The Planning & Zoning Commission heard two applications during its June 19 meeting.

Application 25.04 by GRC regarding the Senior Living Residential District at 120 Glen Road was postponed to the commission's planned July 3 meeting.

The first application heard last week was application 25.14 for an amendment to a special exception by Michelle and Brendan Ferris. The two want to convert a milk house located at 144 Sugar Street to a country farm store.

Michelle told the commission the store would have very limited hours to hopefully avoid overcrowding the parking lot.

“We’re already involved in our other two family businesses on the same property, so it’s very limited hours and especially not to conflict with parking," she told the commission. "Parking is an issue, and we definitely want to stress that. We do not wanna be open while the Creamery is busy, so it would even be where we’re open through the winter when the Creamery is not open at all.”

Michelle said she has been watching the traffic patterns and knows the Creamery does not get busy until 12-1 pm on the weekends and until 2 pm during the week. She added the summer hours would change because of school and weather.

Brendan said, “We don’t want to be conflicting with the traffic that’s already there. We all know we don’t need any more of that.”

Planning & Zoning Commission Chair David Rosen asked about how the number of “incremental [parking] spots” there already are in the lot. Michelle said she did not have a count of spots, but there will not be many people in the building at once. Parking for the store will be where Creamery customers are not allowed to park right now.

“It’s a very small building and I don’t see where there’s gonna be more than a couple people in the building at a time … I kind of want a different shopping experience for the customers to come and be able to shop and not have to deal with traffic or crowds or congestion, you know, shoulder-to-shoulder in the store,” Michelle added.

Barbara Manville asked about customers who go to the Creamers to get ice cream and want to go to the store. Michelle explained the Creamery opens at 11 am for scoops and cones, but customers would be able to get pints and quarts at the side window before 11 am.

Rosen then opened the floor to public comment. There was none.

After closing the public hearing, Commissioner Roy Meadows raised concerns about children playing in the parking lot near a rock wall and noted some of the rocks have fallen. He asked that during construction the Ferris family replace some of the rocks so that “the kids would have a barrier to not get on 302.” Both Ferrises agreed to the request.

Rosen put the application to vote, and it was approved unanimously.

Farmers Market Definition

The second application the commission heard on June 19 was 25.16 for a text amendment to the zoning regulations to update and expand the definition of “farmers market.”

Sue Shortt from Shortt’s Farm, 11 Cherry Street, said, “As the text amendment stands now, we are not allowed certain vendors. In fact, a bunch of our current vendors who have been coming for the last 15 years or so don’t necessarily fall within the purview of the current amendment. So in order to protect us, protect the town, we wanna make sure that we have proper language in there and amend it so that these vendors…can attend and not have any issues.”

Ian Appleby informed the commission that farmers markets have evolved a lot and that there are not many farmers left in Fairfield County.

“There aren’t really markets that follow the strict wording that we actually have that’s antiquated, that is limiting it to just farmers, which we have maybe two or three. If we got rid of the other vendors, there wouldn’t really be a farmer’s market… We’re trying to make it not just shopping at a store from a big company but make it a community vibe that supports local people that can support their families.”

Newtown Land Use Director Rob Sibley said it has been “quite the journey” for Newtown Famers Market to be as successful as it is. He explained that it has been “a difficult choice” to follow the regulations that were written almost 20 years ago.

Manville read the existing definition and proposed definition into the record. The proposed definition is now: “A seasonal event where items are offered for sale to the public, which are created/grown locally by their business. Such goods as fruits, vegetables, herbs, plants, flowers, eggs, honey, maple syrup, dairy products, jams and jellies, baked foods, meat, vinegars, oil, sauces, candies, sweets, frozen treats, wine/beer/spirits, loose teas, coffee, Connecticut food trucks/tent, prepared food by licensed and insured food producers, non-edible items, artisans’ creations, musicians, local nonprofits/community organizations, community involvement/learning initiatives, and seasonal items. Controlled substances regulated by the state are prohibited.”

Rosen questioned why the word “outdoor” was taken out of the definition. Shortt replied that when it has rained in the past, Newtown Community Center has offered its space. Rosen then opened the floor to public comment, to which there was none.

Meadows asked for more time to look over the proposed definition and provide edits at the July 3 meeting.

Shortt said there is a time constraint because the market is currently running as a special event under Parks & Rec. There are only two allowed and the market started on June 17. Sibley said they can ask for a “hold harmless” so the market can continue right away.

As for now, Newtown Farmers Market is slated to return on Tuesday, July 1. The June 24 market was cancelled due to extreme heat.

=====

Reporter Sam Cross can be reached at sam@thebee.com.