Planning & Zoning Commission

CITY OF TORRINGTON PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES September 25, 2024 Present: Greg Mele, Chair Greg Perosino, Vice Chair (Remote) Donna Greco, Member Donovan Riley, Member (Remote) Diane Carroll, Alternate (Seated for Commissioner Bobinski, Remote) Also Present: Starley Arias - Alternate (Remote, 7:04), Jeremy Leifert - City Planner Not Present: James Bobinski – Member, Tom Telman - 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 opened the meeting at 7:00 pm and announced present and serving this evening in person are Chairman Greg Mele and Donna Greco. Serving remotely are Vice Chair Greg Perosino, Donna Greco and seated alternate Diane Carroll. Also present in the auditorium is City Planner Jeremy Leifert as well as applicants and members of the public. 3. Minutes for Approval: a. September 11, 2024 Meeting Chairman Mele noted that the minutes needed to be corrected to reflect that Commissioner Telman was present remotely and was not seated for that meeting. The minutes will be corrected to reflect that. MOTION by Commissioner Carroll to APPROVE the minutes of September 11, 2024 as amended. Motion seconded by Commissioner Perosino. Motion passed unanimously. 4. Public Hearings: Torrington Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes – September 25, 2024 Page 1 of 4  Public Hearing beginning at 7:00 p.m., September 25, 2024, 7:00 p.m., City Hall Auditorium, Room 218, 140 Main Street, Torrington, CT a. 150 Church Street, Assessor’s Map 117 Block 006 Lot 006 160 Church Street, Assessor’s Map 117 Block 006 Lot 007 168 Church Street, Assessor’s Map 118 Block 002 Lot 009 Applicant: City of Torrington Proposal: Change of Zoning Map, R6 Residential to DD-Downtown District Chair Mele opened the public hearing at 7:02 and announced present and serving this evening in person are Chairman Greg Mele and Donna Greco. Serving remotely are Vice Chair Greg Perosino, Donna Greco and seated alternate Diane Carroll. Also present in the auditorium is City Planner Jeremy Leifert as well as applicants and members of the public. Commissioner Greco read the legal notice into the record. Paul Kundzins, City Engineer appeared on behalf of the City of Torrington Engineering/Public Works Department to present the application. He submitted the proof of mailing to the abutting property owners and confirmed that the signs had been posted on Church Street. Mr. Kundzins noted that 150 Church Street is the current Christmas Village property and the properties at 160 and 168 Church Street are the vacant lots adjacent to Christmas Village. The application is being proposed to change these properties from R6 Residential to be included in the adjacent Downtown District because the properties have a logical connection to the Downtown District due to the current and future proposed uses of the properties and redevelopment opportunities. The change will also bring the properties in greater zoning conformity. Future uses of this property include being part of the “Railroad Square” redevelopment project that includes revitalization of the train platform, as well as greenway trail routing, park development and parking improvements around and through Church Street, John Street and Water Street. A grant of $800,000 has been awarded to the City on adjacent properties for John Street improvements, a new promenade near the train platform and improvements to the platform. A zone change to DD will help with connecting future improvements on the Christmas Village properties to the promenade project. Commissioner Carroll asked about the status on the Railroad Square project. Mr. Kundzins stated that the project will move through planning in the winter and work will occur in 2025. Comments were opened to the public. No comments were made. Chairman Mele declared the public hearing closed at 7:11. Torrington Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes – September 25, 2024 Page 2 of 4  MOTION by Commissioner Greco to APPROVE, with conditions as read into the record and made part of the application file: a. 150 Church Street, Assessor’s Map 117 Block 006 Lot 006 160 Church Street, Assessor’s Map 117 Block 006 Lot 007 168 Church Street, Assessor’s Map 118 Block 002 Lot 009 Applicant: City of Torrington Proposal: Change of Zoning Map, R6 Residential to DD-Downtown District Motion seconded by Commissioner Carroll. Motion passed unanimously. 5. Old Business: Chairman Mele stated that there is no old business on the agenda for discussion. 6. New Business: Chairman Mele stated that there is no new business on the agenda for discussion. 7. Correspondence: a. Zoning and Blight Violation update Mr. Leifert stated that a memo and enforcement report have been provided to the commission. Mr. Leifert provided an update for the Mountaintop Trucking recycling yard at 3350 Winsted Road. The commission last meeting agreed that permitting is required from P&Z every 2 years for processing operations, which has not been approved on this property. The property owner currently has a soil scientist on the property working on wetlands mapping, so the commission decided last meeting that they would not require activities to stop on the property, but wanted the wetlands regulated areas, including the upland review areas physically blocked off until an approval is granted. With their being no positive wetlands report for the activities, this will prevent trucks from further traversing the regulated areas until P&Z permitting is complete. The property owner was not happy with this determination by the commission and has been arguing with the staff in our office over the past week. Mr. Leifert is hoping with the wetlands survey in progress, things continue to move in a positive direction. We will however need to pick up enforcement of the commissions’ decision if these actions on the site are not complied with. The commission was in general consensus in agreement. Torrington Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes – September 25, 2024 Page 3 of 4 8. Adjournment: MOTION by Commissioner Perosino to adjourn the meeting at 7:18 pm. Motion seconded by Commissioner Riley. Motion passed unanimously. Torrington Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes – September 25, 2024 Page 4 of 4