Near Exit 10—

P&Z Approves Church Hill Road Retail/Office Building

By Andrew Gorosko

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) has approved a proposal to construct a 6,600-square-foot retail/office building on Church Hill Road, near Exit 10 of Interstate 84.

In a unanimous vote on April 19, P&Z members approved a site development plan from Tom Brook, LLC, for a two-story Colonial-style structure at 75-77 Church Hill Road, across that street from the Blue Colony Diner and Newtown Mobil.

The ground level of the planned building will hold store space, with the upper level containing office space. The long-vacant lot where the retail/office building would be constructed formerly held a dry cleaning shop known as Highway Cleaners.

In its approval, the P&Z placed a number of conditions on the project.

The building will be limited to two store spaces on the ground level and two offices on the upper level.

The site must be chemically monitored on a continuing basis for residual contaminants, which were left behind from its former use as a dry cleaning shop.

Gordon Anderson of 2 Glenmor Drive, who is an applicant for the project, has said a chemical monitoring system would be established for the site. The results of that monitoring would be reviewed by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

Also, the P&Z decided that the project must adhere to the terms of a site lighting plan. Any changes to that lighting plan must receive P&Z approval.

A landscaping plan to beautify the site must be prepared for P&Z review and approval.

Fire safety facilities, including a fire hydrant and a locked box to hold building keys for firefighters, must be provided at the building.

Also, the developer must revise the vehicle parking plans for the project.

On April 19, the P&Z approved no signs for the project. A visually consistent signage plans for the project must be submitted for P&Z review and approval. The P&Z also specified rules for garbage handling on the site.

P&Z members decided that the commercial building proposal meets the standards and criteria required for a site development approval in a B-2 (Business) zone.

The P&Z conducted a public hearing on the project on April 5.

The applicant has received three zoning variances from the Zoning Board Appeals (ZBA) for the project, as well as a wetlands approval from the Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC). The Police Commission, acting as the town traffic authority, also has reviewed the traffic aspects of the project.

The presence of Tom Brook and associated wetlands, just north of the construction site, limits how the site can be developed.

At the April 5 hearing, P&Z members noted the site is in an area with hazardous heavy traffic, where driving is difficult.

The site is on the eastern corner of Church Hill Road and Edmond Road. The property lies across Edmond Road from Newtown Shell Service and across Church Hill Road from the driveways for the Blue Colony Diner and Newtown Mobil, both of which carry much traffic.

Because traffic flow in the area has been thoroughly studied, the state Department of Transportation (DOT) did not require the developer to perform a new traffic study.

Long-term state plans call for moving the southern section of Edmond Road westward to create a four-way intersection of Edmond Road, Commerce Road, and Church Hill Road. That road realignment is intended to relieve hazardous traffic conditions in the vicinity of the existing Edmond Road/Church Hill Road intersection.