Planning & Zoning Commission

CITY OF TORRINGTON PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES February 28, 2024 Present: Greg Mele, Chair Greg Perosino, Vice Chair Jim Bobinski, Member Donna Greco, Member Donovan Riley, Member Diane Carroll, Alternate Tom Telman, Alternate Also Present: Jeremy Leifert, AICP; City Planner Not Present: Starley Arias, Alternate 1. Call to Order: Chair Greg Mele called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Attendance is by Zoom or in-person at City Hall Auditorium, Room 218, 140 Main Street, Torrington, CT. 2. Attendance/Announcement: Chair Mele announced present and serving this evening are Commissioners Greg Perosino, Jim Bobinski, Donna Greco, Donovan Riley, Diane Carroll, and Greg Mele. Present via zoom is Tom Telman, Alternate. Also present is Jeremy Leifert, City Planner. 3. Minutes for Approval: a. February 14, 2024 MOTION by Mr. Perosino to approve the February 14, 2024 minutes, seconded by Ms. Carroll, motion carried with Mr. Bobinski abstaining from voting. 4. New Business: a. Jocelyn Ayer, Director, Litchfield County Center for Housing Opportunity Affordable Housing/Fair Housing Commissioner Training Jocelyn Ayer appeared via zoom and screen shared her presentation. Ms. Ayer said she has also presented to Northwest Hills Council of Governments and the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments last year to meet new training requirements for Connecticut Land Use Officials.  Ms. Ayer stated they are a non-profit organization and their mission is to coordinate a regional response to housing affordability challenges. Torrington is not subject to Connecticut General Statute 8-30g. Ms. Ayer reviewed the definition of affordable housing referring to a chart, showing less than 30% of h ousehold income should be used for housing. Torrington has 1,794 units of dedicated affordable housing. There are 6,760 households that earn less than 80% AMI (area median income) Ms. Ayer presented a detailed slide presentation and answered questions posed by Commission members. (The complete power point presentation from Ms. Ayer is available on the City’s website www.torringtonct.org, under Electronic Meeting Recordings.) The Commission thanked Ms. Ayer for the informative presentation. Chair Mele changed the order of the agenda items, and moved ahead to agenda item 4c: c. Proposal Zoning Regulation Amendment Applicant: City of Torrington Board of Education and Fire Department Proposal: Amend Section 5.15 Sign Regulations; add digital signage on City owned property (set public hearing date) MOTION by Mr. Perosino to set a public hearing date of April 17, 2024, seconded by Ms. Carroll, unanimously carried. b. Tucker Salls and Sydney Elkhay – Legislative Director at Desegregate CT Update on Work Live Ride Legislative Proposal Ms. Sydney Elkhay appeared via zoom with a slide show presentation. Desegregate CT is part of 80 non-profit organizations and residents who work to build more types of homes. They act on every level of government regarding transportation issues and homeless issues. Work Live Ride is a policy framework to align local and State planning to create more transit oriented communities. The goal is to focus growth around parts of our communities with public transportation and existing infrastructure, along with existing Inland Wetlands regulations to ensure no environmental harm. (The complete power point presentation from Ms. Elkhay is available on the City’s website www.torringtonct.org, under Electronic Meeting Recordings.) 5. Adjournment: MOTION by Mr. Perosino to adjourn at 8:21 p.m., seconded by Ms. Carroll, unanimously carried. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes Page 2 of 2 February 28, 2024