New Planning and Zoning proposals would expand the Town Center into a Village District, ease restrictions on parking spaces for businesses, address traffic concerns on Route 1, provide more flexibility for homes on undersized lots, establish new bed-and-breakfast regulations, and set up regulations for pet day care centers.
Branford residents have the summer months to review the first draft of the 192-page document revising the Planning and Zoning regulations before a final draft is adopted in the fall.
Town Planner Shirley Rasmussen said the changes grew out of Branford’s newest Plan of Conservation and Development. In addition, the current regulations were reorganized into a more concise and user-friendly format.
“Regulations that are well-organized will be easy to use,” said Jason Vincent at a recent public meeting held by the Planning and Zoning Commission. Vincent, a consultant with Planimetrics, outlined the changes for about 25 people who attended the meeting, including residents, developers and attorneys.
“This is our initial conversation,” Vincent said. We’re going to have the whole summer to look at the regulations….then we will have a public hearing, probably in October or November.”
Vincent said that reorganizing the regulations has been challenging because they were revised in a “piecemeal fashion” over the years. He likened the process to taking a rope apart and then trying to weave the strands back together. “Our challenge is to try to put it back in a reasonable way,” he said.
The regulations were organized around four themes: basic requirements, zones and uses, standards, and administrative procedures.
Vincent said an important change in the residential zones would allow homeowners with undersized lots to make minor changes without having to request a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals. “It allows people to use their property in a meaningful way,” he said.
Rasmussen later explained that this provision would pertain to residents along the shoreline whose lots are much smaller than the zone permits. Many of the homes were once small beach cottages that existed before zoning regulations. “The problem is they’re no longer little beach houses, virtually all of them are year-round homes,” Rasmussen said. The new provisions would allow modifications of setback regulations if residents want to add a porch, deck or a garage. She said the regulations would only apply to existing lots. “The provision would not allow you to create another lot.” If adopted this proposal would help reduce the number of cases presented to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Several proposed changes would affect businesses and commercial entities.
One major change would be reclassifying the Town Center as a Village District. “We’re also proposing to expand it,” Vincent said. The boundaries of the Village District would increase both to the east and west of the current Town Center, but would not pertain to single-family residences in those areas.
The draft regulations state: “Any new structure, addition or modification of a structure and use or change of use which requires site plan or special exception approval of these regulations and which is located within the Town Center District, is subject to the requirement of and eligible for the special provision of the Town Center Village District.” This would pertain to such items as facades, pedestrian and vehicle circulation, parking, landscaping, signs, etc.
Another proposal would create a new classification of a Mixed-Use District. According to the draft regulations, “The purpose of the Mixed-use District is to facilitate the integration of diverse but compatible uses into a single development, with the goal of creating a community that offers live, work and play opportunities within convenient walking distance of each other.”
Another revision to the business section is the inclusion of provisions for pet daycare facilities.
“We’ve had many inquiries from people who wanted to do doggie day care,” Rasmussen later explained. She said that the current regulations only allow for kennels, which require five acres of property.
Rasmussen said the proposed revisions also add regulations for bed-and-breakfast facilities. Those types of businesses currently fall under a“roomer and boarder” category.
There is also a provision for a special District Access Management component for Route 1 with a goal of reducing traffic accidents. The plan would reduce the number of curb cuts, clearly define driveways and encourage businesses to consolidate parking access.
Rasmussen said one item that sparked interest in the business community is a proposal to reduce the number of parking spaces if a business does not require the number that is currently mandated.
The entire 192-page proposal was posted on the town’s Web site, but people at the meeting complained that the file was too large to download. Vincent said they will attempt to put the proposals into smaller sections that can be viewed more easily.
“What we’re looking for is some feedback from you,” Vincent said.
Several people at the meeting already had concerns about the proposals.
Bill Tower, a Stony Creek resident, suggested that specific regulations be devised for the Thimble Islands, especially in regard to how neighbors are notified if changes are proposed for a near-by island. “Actions on one island certainly affect another island,” he said.
He also expressed his concerns about the Zoning Board of Appeals and the number of variances that are approved.
“The Zoning Board of Appeals in Branford is broken,” Tower said, adding that the board is comprised of hard-working volunteers but he said they receive too many applications.
Dan Bullard, president of the Stony Creek Association, asked if Stony Creek could be designated as a Village District with greater legal clout than it now has. He said the Zoning Board of Appeals has granted variances for changes that the community opposed. “We want the right to control our own destiny,” he said. “We’ve had several houses built that were out of character for our community.”
Attorney David Gibson, who frequently represents prospective developers, congratulated the Planning and Zoning Commission for their work on the revisions. “I’d like to commend you on the organization of the proposed regulations,” he said.
Frank Twohill Jr., the Republican minority leader of the Representative Town Meeting, asked the commission to upgrade regulations for exteriors of proposed chain stores and big-box stores. “I would urge you to look into that very seriously,” he said.
Twohill was also concerned about the number of condominiums in Branford, alluding to Branford’s nickname as the “the condo capital of the state.” He suggested a moratorium on new condo developments.
Ellsworth McGuigan, who chairs the Planning and Zoning Commission, urged people to put their concerns and questions in writing and send them to the commission.
“The comments are extremely helpful,” Rasmussen said. “We will be working on this all summer.”
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