Planning & Zoning Commission

City of Middletown Planning and Zoning Commission December 11, 2019 REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MIDDLETOWN CONNECTICUT DECEMBER 11, 2019 1. Pledge of Allegiance Stephen Devoto called the meeting to order at 7:02 PM with the Pledge of Allegiance. 2. Roll Taking Present: Commissioner Stephen Devoto Commissioner Nicholas Fazzino Commissioner Richard Pelletier Commissioner Thom Pattavina Commissioner Marcus Fazzino Commissioner Catherine Johnson Commissioner Shanay Fulton (seated for Commissioner Brown) Commissioner Kellin Atherton Absent: Commissioner Tyrell Brown Staff: Marek Kozikowski, Middletown City Planner 3. Items removed from the agenda and why Item #6.3 has been postponed to the January 22nd meeting per applicant’s request as they still need a to get a wetlands approval. 4. Public comment on items on agenda which are not currently scheduled for a public hearing None 5. ZEO Certification that all public hearing signs have been properly noticed (when scheduled) No public hearing signs needed for the remaining items on the agenda. 6. Public Hearings (when scheduled) 1  1. Continuation of proposed Draft Chapters “Middletown is Thriving [formally Growing]” and “Middletown is Healthy” for the 2020 Plan of Conservation and Development to be reviewed and approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission. Applicant/agent CME Engineering/John Guszkowski Chairman Devoto suggests combining Items 6.1 & 6.2 together. A motion by Thom Pattavina to combine all four Chapters of the 2020 PCD Draft was made and seconded by Nicholas Fazzino. Approved unanimously. 2. Proposed Draft Chapters “Middletown is Connected” and “Middletown is Vibrant” for the 2020 Plan of Conservation and Development to be reviewed and approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission. Applicant/agent CME Engineering/John Guszkowski John Guszkowski, Planner with CME Associates said he distributed a word version of the chapters and he is here tonight to get comments from the public, the staff and the Commission. From the public: Lanie Bank of 109 Red Clover said she has read the four chapters so far and is curious as to what the difference is between what we should do and the actual implementation page. She also stated that she wonders if the sustainability chapter should be throughout the other 3 chapters rather than its own place. She represents the senior citizens of this town and hopes there is some interesting suggestions to talk to the Community Relations person at Middlesex Hospital about how we can make services for seniors integrated in other areas of the town for senior citizens. Brian Stewart likes the tone and upbeat nature of this document. He wanted to comment about what Ms. Bank said in weaving sustainability throughout the document. It is hard to make predictions about the future which are difficult to make. In his view, it’s about as hard at this moment in history with environmental uncertainty, climate uncertainty even not to mention political and economic uncertainty. Steve Bank, 109 Red Clover wants to speak about sustainability. Particularly the impact of global warming. It’s serious and it’s here. He’s also spoke about Route 9 and the river being connected. There is no sense the DOT takes Middletown seriously. There is no voice about the rerouting of Route 9. It’s going to affect the Riverfront and many other aspects of business life here. We need political clout into being taken seriously by DOT. Krishna Winston, 655 Bow Lane would like to underline some things in the report that she finds encouraging. One of them is that we should not expand the City beyond the sewer and water lines. She also like the rehabilitation of existing housing, particularly in the north end. She likes the emphasis on intermodal transportation and using parks and open space for small agricultural projects. Without sustainability, everything falls apart. Commissioner Devoto agrees about the discussion on the growth. There should be maps and history of previous planning in the document. He said the document seems to read that there is something better than the existing stop lights on Route 9 for Middletown. It should not be taken for granted. It’s possible it may not be possible to have a plan that’s good for our city than what it is now. He will forward some language from the project for public space report which suggested that the City request DOT to examine the feasibility of turning Route 9 into a boulevard as has been done in many cities. He would like to see that in the 2020 POCD. As far as the draft, POCD sees that a pedestrian overpass that goes over Route 9 as a good thing, he said the Project of 2 Open Spaces concluded that it wasn’t because Harbor Park is so narrow, the landing footprint would dwarf Harbor Park. Commissioner Atherton likes the way the draft POCD is developing. He sees the words ‘downtown’ and ‘north end’ featured many times in the document and for good reasons as he recognizes the impact for all by increased economic opportunity but he doesn’t see much of other areas of the City such as ‘Westfield’. How does a healthy Westfield section or building up of Westfield benefit Middletown at all? He also does not see much mention of the Maromas area or the south side of the City. He would like to see the other communities like Middlesex College and the Wesleyan community featured and recognize their benefit and presence in Middletown to contribute to a healthy and vibrant sustainable town overall. What is a ten year plan for a neighborhood in the south end of town that is going to improve the health in the town? Commissioner Marcus Fazzino asked if there was a plan for easy accessibility to Route 9 for people to get into Middletown. Mr. Guszkowski said they are trying to come up with a master plan but lack some insight or control. Route 9 is DOT property. There have been several plans that got back burned. The City needs to have a strong champion with DOT. He needs to make sure that the City is part of the planning and that planning needs to very strongly consider that mix of accessibility into Middletown, safety for anyone in the area and the people in the area and the need for Middletown to grow and thrive. Commissioner Nick Fazzino asked if Mr. Guszkowski is up to getting the state reps involved. This has been going on too long and nothing ever gets done. Commissioner Shanay Fulton suggested having a subcommittee and engage the community more. Commissioner Catherine Johnson said there was some previous chapters with some graphs and demographics. She was hoping they would compare the demographics from now, 2010 and 1991. 50% of Middletown citizens used to work in town. Now it’s 21%. She would really like to know more about where the citizens work. A discussion ensued regarding the Chapters. Commissioner Thom Pattavina moves continue to the next meeting on January 8th. Commissioner Nicholas Fazzino seconds the motion. The chair calls for the vote. It is unanimous to continuewith 7 aye votes. The chair states the matter passes unanimously with 7 affirmative votes. 3. Proposed two lot subdivision at 584 Atkins Street (Atkins Ridge) between Brechlin Road and Timber Ridge Road in the R-60 Residential Zone. Applicant/agent Coccomo II, LLC S2019-3 This application was postponed by the applicant as they need a wetland permit. 7. Old Business None 8. New Business 1. Request for a reduction of the Public Works bond from $80,000 to $60,000 for the Sunwood Development on Ridgewood Road and Mile Lane. Applicant/agent Robert Wiedenmann / Sunwood Development S2018-1 Marek gave an update of the public works comment to reduce the bond to $60,000. 3 Commissioner Richard Pelletier moves for approval for a reduction of the Public Works bond from $80,000 to $60,000 for the Sunwood Development on Ridgewood Road and Mile Lane. Commissioner Thom Pattavina seconds the motion. The chair calls for the vote. It is unanimous to approve with 7 aye votes. The chair states the matter passes unanimously with 7 affirmative votes. 9. Public comment on topics which are not or have not been the subject of a public hearing Trevor Davis, Arbutus Street said that while he was very impress by the draft, he thought of some things that were missing and would like to share. He saw no mention of the train. Long term plans should include Middletown to have a station on the riverfront and downtown which should include parking for the passengers. A grocery and a farmer’s market should be planned and expanded beyond the seasonal Friday farmer’s market. He said Middletown has many museums and arts organizations and very few are thriving. He thought maybe an arts publication would be good so that the public is aware of the many things we have to offer besides good restaurants. 10. Minutes of the Regular Meeting, Transcripts, Staff Reports and Commission Affairs 10.1 Minutes of November 13, 2019 Meeting Commissioner Devoto noted a few changes to be made to the minutes. Commissioner Catherine Johnson moves to table the minutes of November 13, 2019 Meeting. Commissioner Thom Pattavina seconds the motion. The chair calls for the vote. It is unanimous to table with 7 aye votes. The chair states the matter passes with 6 affirmative votes and 1 abstention by Commissioner Marcus Fazzino. 10.2 Other Commission Affairs a. River-Cog Report No report. 10.3 POCD Discussion 10.4 Zoning Regulations / Text Changes No updates A motion was moved by Commissioner Pattavina to add under Item 10, Adoption of the 2020 upcoming meetings for P&Z. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Pelletier. Vote was approved unanimously. A motion was moved by Commissioner Fazzino to adopt the 2020 upcoming calendar meeting dates. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Pattavina. Approved unanimously. A reminder to the Commission was made to use their “middletown.gov” emails instead of their personal ones. 11. Adjournment 4 Commissioner Pattavina moves for adjournment at 8:14 PM. Commissioner Nicholas Fazzino seconds the motion. The chair calls for the vote. It is unanimous to adjourn with 7 aye votes. The chair states the matter passes unanimously with 7 affirmative votes. Respectfully submitted, Marek Kozikowski, City Planner City of Middletown, CT 5