Commission on the City Plan

COMMISSION ON THE CITY PLAN TUESDAY, February 23, 2021, 7:00 PM Virtual/Remote Meeting NORWICH, CT REGULAR MEETING Assistant City Planner Daniel Daniska read information pertaining to virtual meetings and clearly stated that the meeting, including video, would be recorded. A. CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Frank Manfredi called the meeting to order at 7:06 PM. B. ROLL CALL AND SEATING OF ALTERNATES: Present: Chairman Frank Manfredi, Vice Chairman Les King, Jason Courter, Michael Lahan and Swarnjit Singh Bhatia Absent: Kathy Warzecha Others Present: City Planner Deanna Rhodes, Assistant City Planner Dan Daniska and Recording Secretary Melinda Wilson C. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Commission on the City Plan (CCP) January 28, 2021 Meeting Minutes On a motion by Michael Lahan, seconded by Les King, the minutes of the January 28, 2021 CCP meeting were unanimously approved. D. COMMUNICATIONS: City Planner Deanna Rhodes noted there were no communications for this meeting. E. NEW BUSINESS: 1. Referral from the City Council: AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 13 SPECIAL DISTRICTS BY ADDING SECTION 3.11 BUSINESS MASTER PLAN DISTRICT (BMPD) TO THE NORWICH ZONING REGULATIONS – Discussion Chair Frank Manfredi and Swarnjit Singh Bhatia both recused themselves from discussion due to their positions on the Norwich Community Development Corporation (NCDC) Board of Directors. NCDC is the applicant. City Planner Deanna Rhodes displayed the text of the proposed amendment. She summarized the document. NCDC has requested to add a Business Master Plan District to the City of Norwich Zoning Regulations. The document speaks to how the amendment supports the city’s Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD). This additional zone would be a floating zone that would overlay other existing zones. It would include 200 contiguous acres. This does tie to the Master Plan. The regulations say you can apply for this zone and qualify by meeting bulk requirements. Then, the project would go before the City Council as they are the approval authority for the Master Plan. The application is the avenue to this in the future. Ms. Rhodes reported that the City Council will be taking public comment on this text amendment on April 5, 2021. She also noted that since Kathy Warzecha is not present tonight, she suggested that the topic could be discussed at the March CCP meeting. 1  Ms. Rhodes noted that several people, including attorneys, edited this proposed amendment prior to its submission by NCDC. The proposal has design standards. Ms. Rhodes described the proposed amendment as a tool. She confirmed that she is comfortable with the current language. She reviewed some of the potential uses and exclusions. The intent of the Business Master Plan District is to promote economic development. She will email the document to commissioners for their review. Les King made a motion to table the discussion to the March 16, 2021 CCP meeting. Jason Courter seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Chair Manfredi and Swarnjit Singh Bhatia rejoined the meeting for discussion on other topics. 2. 510 CRS TABLE: Annual Recertification Documentation Report – Discussion Ms. Rhodes reported that the Community Rating System (CRS) is a program of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to enable city residents to benefit from savings on flood insurance. It is a significant amount of work for city staff. Participation in the program results in approximately a 10% reduction for those with flood insurance. The program requires annual recertification. The activity associated with 510 is implementation of a hazardous mitigation plan. AS part of the activity, city staff are required to review this with the CCP. She proceeded to review the progress report in detail with the CCP. Ms. Rhodes reviewed status on all action items covered in the report. Discussion ensued about some of the action items. CCP members felt the review was complete and beneficial. F. OLD BUSINESS: None G. EXTENSION REQUESTS: None H. BOND REDUCTION / RELEASE REQUESTS: SDP #912B Reduction Request Ms. Rhodes noted a correction to the agenda item. The correct item number is SDP #921 A & B, not 912 A & B as per the agenda. This is the Ponemah Mill project. The estimate is a reduction to $12,000. She reviewed the work done thus far. Michael Lahan made a motion to reduce SDP #921 A & B to $12,000. Les King seconded. The CCP unanimously approved the motion. I. OTHER BUSINESS: Discuss amending subdivision regulations to increase the fee required for open space to correlate with CT General Statutes Les King made a motion to table the item to the March 16, 2021 CCP meeting. Swarnjit Singh Bhatia seconded the motion. The CCP unanimously approved the motion. J. POCD Plan Implementation Committee (PIC) MEETING UPDATE + REMINDER: April 14, 2021 Virtual Meeting Chair Manfredi reminded the CCP members of the April 14, 2021 POCD-PIC meeting. K. STAFF REPORT: Ms. Rhodes gave updates for the Burger King project in Norwichtown. She made inquiries into the status of the start of construction schedule and the developers’ plans. She has yet to hear back. The new building official resigned due to moving to Florida. The position will be posted. 2  Ms. Rhodes reported that the Hale Mill Hotel project developers reached agreement with the State Office of Historic Preservation (SHPO). There was a revision to the portico. The developers’ goal is to start construction in the summer. They have not yet filed Mylars. L: ADJOURNMENT: On a motion by Les King, seconded by Swarnjit Singh Bhatia, the CCP unanimously adjourned at 7:44 PM. Respectfully submitted, Melinda Wilson Recording Secretary 3