Plan Review Committee

CITY OF NORWALK PLAN REVIEW COMMITTEE December 1, 2016 PRESENT: Joe Passero, acting as Chair; Nate Sumpter; Doug Stern; Lou Schulman; Mike Witherspoon; Galen Wright-Wells; Richard Roina STAFF: Steven Kleppin; Mike Wrinn OTHERS: Atty. David Waters; Atty. Liz Suchy; Bruce Beinfield; Mike Galante Mr. Sumpter called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. I. SPECIAL PERMITS & COASTAL SITE PLAN REVIEWS a) #3-96SPR/#4-00SP/#17-13SP – Hewitt Assoc/Merritt River Partners - 45 Glover/399 Main/1 Glover Ave – Request to modify parking and lease agreements between various properties and related changes - Determine if minor change (Zoning Commission action required) Mr. Wrinn began the presentation with a brief introduction and then Atty. Waters continued the presentation. He oriented the commissioners as to the location of the property on an aerial map. He explained the modifications to the parking plan as well as the required parking. He discussed the current parking situation in relation to why the applicant would like to change it. He then explained where the parking would be for the two buildings. He then described the proposed parking plan. Mr. Wrinn confirmed that the number of parking spaces and the distances were correct and met the zoning requirements. The commissioners agreed that it would be on the Zoning Commission agenda in December. b) #14-16SP/#32-16CAM – L. Fishell – 75 East Av - Conversion of funeral home to 4 units – Final review prior to public hearing Mr. Wrinn began the presentation by explaining that the applicant had received comments from the Village District consultant which they would address. The application was scheduled to be on the Zoning Commission agenda in December. II. SITE PLAN REVIEWS & COASTAL SITE PLAN REVIEWS a) #31-16CAM – Fletcher Land Development – 38 Shorefront Park – New single family residence – Further review Mr. Wrinn began the presentation by explaining that the applicant had received notification from the Harbor Commission that they had no objections to the application. It was scheduled for the Zoning Commission agenda in December. b) #9-16SPR/#33-16CAM – King Industries – Jennings Place – 8,000 sf building for Maritime Rowing Club – Preliminary review Mr. Wrinn began the presentation by explaining that the Maritime Rowing Club would have to be moved because of the Walk Bridge project. King Industries had agreed to allow them to use space on their site. Plan Review Committee December 1, 2016 Page 1 of 3  Atty. Suchy continued the presentation by orienting the commissioners as to the location of the property on an aerial map. She also showed them the site plan for the current business on the property. She then showed them the plans for the new buildings that the rowing club would construct. They also have an application before the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (“D.E.E.P.”). The applicant was working with all the necessary Norwalk agencies to complete the project and remain in Norwalk. There was a discussion about the application being on the Zoning Commission agenda in January. Mr. Wrinn said these would be permanent structures. Brian McMahon continued the presentation by describing the site plan in detail, the parking lot, sewers, drainage and storm water retention. There would not be any change to the grade of the property. There was a discussion of the 100 year flood zone as well as the flood zone regulations. Mr. McMahon said that the applicant was working with D.E.E.P. The lower level required storage on that level. Mr. Watkins continued the presentation with a discussion of the 1st floor boat storage. He also discussed the elevations as well as the elevators and garage doors into the building. He also described the industrial nature of the building. There was a discussion about the flood vents and how they would allow water in. There was a discussion of the engineered building. Mr. McMahon discussed access to the property. Atty. Suchy noted that the site is very secure because of oversight from the Homeland Security office. The application would be on the Zoning Commission agenda in January. At this point in the meeting, the commissioners decided to break so that Atty. Suchy could attend the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting. It was 7:25 p.m. The meeting re-convened at 8:12 p.m. c) #13-16SP - Main Norwalk, LLC – 272 - 280 Main Avenue – “The Village” – Proposed new ±75,000 sf retail development – Further review Atty. Suchy apologized for being late and began the presentation. She gave a brief introduction of the application and then introduced Mr. Beinfield. Bruce Beinfield continued the presentation with a discussion of the treatment of the building. He showed the commissioners different plans which should the north and south side views. There was a discussion of the vegetative buffer between the Laura Raymond homes and the site. There was a discussion as to whether the site would have one major retailer or multiple. Atty. Suchy continued the presentation by noting that there had been a CEAC meeting with various city departments to review the application. The applicant had held meetings and discussions with various neighbors, including the Laura Raymond Home residents, the condo residents behind the site and residents in Silvermine. More meetings were being planned. Some of the comments from the residents included a better buffer between the site and the condos, and that there should be no parking near the Laura Raymond homes. Mike Galante, the traffic engineer, continued the presentation by orienting the commissioners as to the location of the property on an aerial map. He discussed the intersections that were studied and why some were not. The intersections at the Merritt Parkway were not studied because the State Department of Transportation may be changing them. He explained that the applicant was in Step 1 of 3 of their OSTA review. He discussed the hours that were analyzed in the study and that they used peak volumes. There was a lengthy discussion of how to fix the negative impacts in the corridor. The signals would be synchronized which the applicant would pay Plan Review Committee December 1, 2016 Page 2 of 3 for. There was a discussion of bringing in a computer model to show the traffic flows. He also discussed traffic generation from the site. There was a discussion about having multiple stores versus a discount club. They reviewed some of the comments from the CEAC meeting. There was also a discussion of the trains passing through the area. There would be no left turns from the site onto Main Avenue. There was a discussion about the fact that the Zoning Commission would hire an independent traffic engineer to review the traffic study which the applicant would pay for. There was also a discussion about the public hearing which would most likely be a special meeting in late January or early February. The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted by, Diana Palmentiero Plan Review Committee December 1, 2016 Page 3 of 3