P&Z Considers Commercial Office And Storage Building On Barnabas Rd In Hawleyville

By Andrew Gorosko

Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members are considering a proposal from a local businessman to build a 9,980-square-foot commercial building for office, storage, and garage space on Barnabas Road in Hawleyville, behind the commuter parking lot for Exit 9 of Interstate 84.

Applicant Steve Nicolosi is seeking P&Z approval for a site development plan for the building, parking lot, septic system, water well, and drainage structures at 64 Barnabas Road .

The 1.6-acre site has HCDD-E (Hawleyville Center Design District-East) zoning. The site is on the north side of Barnabas Road, about 150 feet from Barnabas Road’s intersection with Hawleyville Road.

Permitted uses in the HCDD-E zone include retail, personal services, banks, offices, restaurants, museums, galleries, meeting halls, places of worship, parking, and transportation terminals. P&Z members created HCDD-E zoning in 2000 to strengthen and encourage the redevelopment and enhancement of a Hawleyville village center.

After several unsuccessful attempts several years ago to convert the residential zoning of his Barnabas Road property to industrial zoning, Mr Nicolosi eventually sought and received P&Z approval for HCDD-E zoning for his property.

 Engineer Ronald George, of CCA, LLC, of Brookfield, represented Mr Nicolosi at a February 5 P&Z public hearing. Mr George said the proposed building would be occupied by Mr Nicolosi’s business, plus two commercial tenants. Mr Nicolosi would occupy a majority of the floor space, Mr George said.

Mr Nicolosi is in the business of radon testing and mitigation.

One potential tenant at the Nicolosi property is in the audio-visual services business. Another tenant would operate a business-to-business furniture showroom at the property, according to Mr Nicolosi.

“The public won’t be interacting with this [commercial] lot,” Mr George told P&Z members.

Appearance Issues

P&Z Chairman William O’Neil pointed out that the P&Z’s intent in creating HCDD-E zoning was to improve the appearance of Hawleyville Center.

The building that Mr Nicolosi proposes for the site has an industrial appearance similar to the garage at state police’s Troop A barracks in Southbury.  

Of the design for Mr Nicolosi’s proposed utilitarian steel building, Mr O’Neil said, “It looks pretty much to be ‘plain vanilla.’” The structure would be about 24 feet tall. 

Mr O’Neil said that existing buildings in an industrial zone on Barnabas Road, which lie to the east of the Nicolosi site, are more attractive than the building that Mr Nicolosi proposes for his property in the HCDD-E zone.

“The look of the building is not New England-style friendly,” said P&Z member Lilla Dean.

“We’re trying to go up [in style]. You’re trying to look a little better than a Quonset hut,” Ms Dean told Mr Nicolosi.

The P&Z is seeking to improve the appearance of Hawleyville Center through HCDD-E zoning, but the building that has been proposed would not do that, Mr O’Neil said.

Mr Nicolosi responded that there would be vegetation in front of the structure. He added that physical constraints on the site would tend to prevent any expansion of the proposed building.

P&Z member Jane Brymer pointed out that the west side of the building would be visible from the Exit 9 commuter parking lot.

P&Z member Robert Mulholland said Mr Nicolosi’s design amounts to a “cold-looking building.”

P&Z member Robert Poulin that said he is not impressed with Mr Nicolosi’s design. “This is a very big piece of ‘ugly’… This is an awful ‘harsh’ building…I’m looking for you to jazz this up.”

Mr Poulin asked that Mr Nicolosi apply some masonry trim to the structure to improve its appearance.

Mr O’Neil urged that Mr Nicolosi provide the P&Z with an elevation drawing depicting how the building’s façade would appear with masonry trim affixed.

P&Z members recently formed a committee to formulate architectural standards for the Hawleyville Center Design District and for the Sandy Hook Design District, two zoning designations which the P&Z created to enhance the appearance of Hawleyville Center and Sandy Hook Center.

Public Comment

Carol Ferry Hutchins of 58 Barnabas Road lives next door to Mr Nicolosi’s property.

Ms Hutchins told P&Z members that the industrial properties on Barnabas Road that are east of the Nicolosi site generate much commercial traffic including Connecticut Light & Power Co utility trucks, moving vans, garbage trucks, and vehicles hauling horse trailers. The Barnabas Road industrial park contains a CL&P service center, a moving and storage firm, a garbage truck garage, and a horse veterinarian.

Ms Hutchins asked how much traffic would be generated by Mr Nicolosi’s building. She also asked how much noise would be created by the facility. She asked how garage space within the building would be used.

Ms Dean told Ms Hutchins that if the property were developed as a bank, for example,  there would be a constant flow of traffic.

Mr George responded that the building would generate little traffic. If the site were developed for retail use, it would create much more traffic, he said.

Excluding deliveries, the developed property would generate about 20 vehicle trips per day, he said.

Mr O’Neil asked that Mr Nicolosi provide the P&Z with a design drawing depicting a more attractive building façade, including some masonry trim.

Mr Nicolosi responded that he is willing to have such trim extend upward ten feet from the ground.

After receiving the drawing, P&Z members would consider the design changes and then act on the construction proposal.