Planning & Zoning Commission

CITY OF TORRINGTON PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES July 17, 2024 Present: Greg Mele, Chair Greg Perosino, Vice Chair (Remote) Donovan Riley, Member (Remote) Donna Greco, Member Starley Arias, Alternate (Seated for Commissioner Bobinski, Remote) Also Present: Diane Carroll, Alternate (Remote); Jeremy Leifert, AICP, City Planner Not Present: James Bobinski, Member; Tom Telman, Alternate 1. Call to Order: Chair Greg Mele called the meeting to order at 7:01 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 opened the meeting at 7:01 pm and announced present and serving this evening in person are Donna Greco and Greg Mele. Serving remotely via zoom are Greg Perosino, Donovan Riley, seated alternate Starley Arias. Also present and serving via zoom is alternate member Diane Carroll. Also present in the auditorium is City Planner Jeremy Leifert. 3. Minutes for Approval: a. June 12, 2024 MOTION by Commissioner Greco to APPROVE the minutes of June 12, 2024. Motion seconded by Commissioner Riley. Motion passed unanimously. b. June 26, 2024 MOTION by Commissioner Perosino to APPROVE the minutes of June 26, 2024. Motion seconded by Commissioner Greco. Motion passed unanimously. 4. Public Hearings beginning at 7:00 p.m., July 17, 2024, City Hall Auditorium, Room 218, 140 Main Street, Torrington, CT Torrington Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes – July 17, 2024 Page 1 of 7  a. 104 Grove Street, Assessor’s Map 118 Block 017 Lot 015 Applicant: Anthony DeRosa Proposal: Special Exception #24-04 and Site Plan Application #1509; Waive minimum parking requirements and change use of the property from office use to assembly/church use in an R6 residential zone Chair Mele opened the public hearing at 7:03 and announced present and serving this evening in person are Donna Greco and Greg Mele. Serving remotely via zoom are Greg Perosino, Donovan Riley, seated alternate Starley Arias. Also present and serving via zoom is alternate member Diane Carroll. Also present in the auditorium is City Planner Jeremy Leifert. Commissioner Greco read the legal notice into the record. Mr. Leifert noted that the mailings were recieved and the sign was posted for the public hearing. He then read in an email the applicant requesting a continuation of the public hearing to the August 14 meeting. MOTION by Commissioner Perosino to CONTINUE the public hearing on this application to the August 14, 2024 meeting date. Motion seconded by Commissioner Greco. Motion passed unanimously. b. 856 Main Street, Assessor’s Map 120 Block 006 Lot 011 Applicant: Doreen Gagnon Proposal: Special Exception #24-05 and Site Plan Application #1511; Convert first floor from office to a residential unit; covert home to two-family dwelling in an LB zone Chair Mele opened the public hearing at 7:06 and announced present and serving this evening in person are Donna Greco and Greg Mele. Serving remotely via zoom are Greg Perosino, Donovan Riley, seated alternate Starley Arias. Also present and serving via zoom is alternate member Diane Carroll. Also present in the auditorium is City Planner Jeremy Leifert. Commissioner Greco read the legal notice into the record. The applicant, Doreen Gagnon provided confirmation that the sign was posted for the public hearing and submitted the proof of abutter mailings. She then summarized the application, noting that there are no alterations to the building, only a request for conversion of an existing first floor office space to a one-bedroom apartment. Mr. Leifert read his memo into the record. Torrington Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes – July 17, 2024 Page 2 of 7  Chairman Mele opened comments from the public. No one spoke in favor or in opposition of the application. Chairman Mele declared the public hearing closed at 7:16. MOTION by Commissioner Greco to APPROVE, as read into the record: 856 Main Street, Assessor’s Map 120 Block 006 Lot 011 Applicant: Doreen Gagnon Proposal: Special Exception #24-05 and Site Plan Application #1511; Convert first floor from office to a residential unit; covert home to two-family dwelling in an LB zone Motion seconded by Commissioner Perosino. Motion passed unanimously. c. 263 Migeon Avenue, Assessor’s Map 109 Block 016 Lot 010 Applicant: Martin J. Connor, AICP on behalf of McCall Foundation Inc. Proposal: Special Exception #24-06 and Site Plan Application #1516; Change of Use from Rooming House to Office Use and Wellness Center in and R6 Residential Zone Mr. Leifert noted that the commission could not open the public hearing tonight because the abutter mailings were not sent by the applicant. The public hearing needs to be rescheduled. MOTION by Commissioner Perosino to schedule the public hearing on this application for the August 14, 2024 meeting date. Motion seconded by Commissioner Riley. Motion passed unanimously. d. 230 Old Winsted Road, Assessor’s Map 237 Block 003 Lot 006 Applicant: Northledge Holdings LLC Proposal: Special Exception #24-07 and Site Plan Application #1517; Two-year earth excavation application and site plan review for future construction of two 7,500 square foot warehousing/storage buildings Chairman Mele opened the public hearing at 7:06 and announced present and serving this evening in person are Donna Greco and Greg Mele. Serving remotely via zoom are Greg Perosino, Donovan Riley and seated alternate Starley Arias. Also present and serving via zoom is alternate member Diane Carroll. Also present in the auditorium is City Planner Jeremy Leifert. Commissioner Greco read the legal notice into the record. Torrington Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes – July 17, 2024 Page 3 of 7  The applicant, Mitch Alibozak and Brian Cunningham of Robert Green Associates provided confirmation that the sign was posted for the public hearing and submitted the proof of abutter mailings. They described the buildings as proposed for contractor’s storage. Mr. Leifert read his memo into the record. Chairman Mele asked Mr. Leifert about the timing of obtaining permits for the buildings in relation to the Earth Excavation. Mr. Leifert stated that the project is under the scope of a quarry approval until the property is fully graded, and will switch to site plan review once the applicant is prepared to pull building permits to construct the buildings. Chairman Mele asked the applicants about the reserve area for the proposed septic system. Mr. Cunningham directed Chairman Mele to the location of the leaching fields on the plan. Commissioner Riley asked about the three phases noted on the plans. Mr. Cunningham clarified that the total excavation area totals almost three acres, but the active work area will be each phase at one time not to exceed 1.5 acres of exposed active area at a time. Commissioner Perosino asked about the difference between the quarry and the site plan for the buildings. Mr. Leifert changed the sheet visible on the shared screen to show the buildings and clarified that the site plan for the building is valid for 5 years, but the quarry approval special exception is only valid for 2 years. Chairman Mele opened comments from the public. No one spoke in favor of the application. Trevon Whittaker of 257 Old Winsted Road lives across the street from the property and asked questions about both the blasting timing and road shutdowns for blasting. The applicant and the commission discussed monitoring and notification requirements for blasting as well as blast timing. Mr. Leifert noted that there are requirements in the regulations that will be placed on any approval. Commissioner Perosino stated that he would like to see seismographic monitoring as a requirement on any approvals. Mr. Leifert suggested a requirement for filing of blasting reports with the application file. Chairman Mele declared the public hearing closed at 8:04. MOTION by Commissioner Greco to APPROVE, as read into the record with conditions: Torrington Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes – July 17, 2024 Page 4 of 7  230 Old Winsted Road, Assessor’s Map 237 Block 003 Lot 006 Applicant: Northledge Holdings LLC Proposal: Special Exception #24-07 and Site Plan Application #1517; Two-year earth excavation application and site plan review for future construction of two 7,500 square foot warehousing/storage buildings Motion seconded by Commissioner Perosino. Motion passed unanimously. e. Proposed Zoning Regulation Amendment Applicant: City of Torrington, Planning and Zoning Commission Proposal: Amendments to Landscaping Regulations – Section 5.11.1 (Purpose and Intent), Section 5.11.2 (General Requirements), Section 5.11.5 (Specific Requirements) and Section 5.11.6 (Enforcement) Chairman Mele opened the public hearing at 8:06 and announced present and serving this evening in person are Donna Greco and Greg Mele. Serving remotely via zoom are Greg Perosino, Donovan Riley and seated alternate Starley Arias. Also present and serving via zoom is alternate member Diane Carroll. Also present in the auditorium is City Planner Jeremy Leifert. Assistant Planner Nate Nardi-Cyrus and presented proposed amendment by reading in a memo he prepared from himself and the Conservation Commission. The amendment proposed would change language in preamble of the landscaping section and requiring only plants native to the United States for any required planting. Also, an exemption would be added for farms and farmers roadside stands. Commissioner Riley asked about cost differences between natives and non-natives. Mr. Nardi-Cyrus stated that they had explored this in the Conservation Commission, any cost differences appear to be minor in their research and discussions. Mr. Leifert read his memo into the record in support of the amendment. Commissioner Greco read the legal notice into the record. Mr. Leifert noted the mailings to the abutting town were complete as well as the referral being sent to the NHCOG. Chairman Mele opened comments from the public. No one spoke in favor or in opposition of the proposed amendment. Chairman Mele declared the public hearing closed at 8:19. MOTION by Commissioner Greco to APPROVE, as read into the record with conditions: Torrington Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes – July 17, 2024 Page 5 of 7  Proposed Zoning Regulation Amendment Applicant: City of Torrington, Planning and Zoning Commission Proposal: Amendments to Landscaping Regulations – Section 5.11.1 (Purpose and Intent), Section 5.11.2 (General Requirements), Section 5.11.5 (Specific Requirements) and Section 5.11.6 (Enforcement) Motion seconded by Commissioner Perosino. Motion passed unanimously. 5. Old Business: Chairman Mele noted that there is no old business on the agenda for this evening 6. New Business: Chairman Mele noted that there is no new business on the agenda for this evening 7. Correspondence: a. Nate Nardi-Cyrus, Assistant Planner; Zoning and Blight Violation update Mr. Nardi Cyrus presented open zoning enforcement cases, including the number of active cases and the stages of enforcement for the open cases. Mr. Leifert asked that the major cases be described. 92 Roulin Street is a longstanding open junk/vehicle case currently under review by Corporation Counsel 446 Newfield Road is a farm animal case in which the City received a judgement to remove pigs from a property where they are not allowed Felicity Lane is in a holding pattern for zoning and wetlands issues at the end of the street 441 Oak Avenue is a use violation for use of a garage as living space, which was upheld by ZBA and is currently in a court appeal 1050 East Main Street is an ongoing site plan violation issues for the Batch Brew coffee truck for operating with incomplete site work. The owner has until mid-august to complete the work according to a letter sent by Corporation Counsel. Torrington Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes – July 17, 2024 Page 6 of 7  Commissioner Greco asked about the Summer Street property. Mr. Nardi-Cyrus confirmed that there is an existing Cease and Desist Order on the property. Mr. Leifert confirmed that a landscaper on the Litchfield Street side of the property is approved. Commissioner Perosino inquired about the Red Oak Hill property. Mr. Nardi Cyrus confirmed that it has been discussed through blight, but the Yankee Pedlar has been taking up much of the blight committee time. Discussion ensued on the status of the property and fines plus further enforcement options. 8. Adjournment: MOTION by Commissioner Perosino to Adjourn the Meeting at 8:33. Seconded by Commissioner Riley. Motion Passed Unanimously. Torrington Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes – July 17, 2024 Page 7 of 7