Planning & Zoning Commission

CITY OF TORRINGTON PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES October 9, 2024 Present: Donovan Riley, Member, Acting Chair (Remote) Donna Greco, Member Jim Bobinski, Member Tom Telman, Alternate (Seated for Commissioner Mele, Remote) Also Present: Jeremy Leifert - City Planner and applicants Joe Lucia and Ken Hrica (remote) Not Present: Greg Mele – Chair, Greg Perosino – Vice Chair, Diane Carroll – Alternate, Starley Arias - Alternate 1. Call to Order: Commissioner Riley called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Attendance is by Zoom or in-person at City Hall Auditorium, Room 218, 140 Main Street, Torrington, CT. 2. Attendance/Announcement: Acting Chair Riley opened the meeting at 7:02 pm and announced present and serving this evening in person are Members Donna Greco and Jim Bobinski. Serving remotely are seated alternate Tom Telman and ancting Chair for this meeting Donovan Riley. Also present in the auditorium is City Planner Jeremy Leifert as well as applicants. 3. Minutes for Approval: a. September 25, 2024 Meeting Two members announced that they would be abstaining from voting on the minutes. Mr. Leifert stated that there were not enough votes present to accept the minutes, and suggested tabling them until the next meeting. The commission greed to table the minutes to the November 13th meeting. Mr. Leifert noted a request from Ken Hrica of Hrica Associates to move his application to last on the agenda to enable him to attend a meeting in another town prior to this meeting. MOTION by Commissioner Telman to MOVE item 6b, 1058 Litchfield Street to the end of the agenda. Motion seconded by Commissioner Bobinski. Motion passed unanimously. Torrington Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes – October 9, 2024 Page 1 of 3 4. Public Hearings: Mr. Leifert stated that there are no public hearings scheduled for this meeting or in any future meetings currently. 5. Old Business: There is no old business for consideration at this meeting. 6. New Business: a. Site Plan Application #1533 Location: 88-92 Brightwood Avenue, Assessor’s Map 125 Block 004 Lot 009 Applicant: Joseph Lucia Proposal: New 1200 sf storage building for equipment and vehicle storage Mr. Lucia presented his plans for a 30x40 storage building for storage of equipment and flatbed trucks. Mr. Leifert briefly went over the setback requirements and requirements for a foundation as-built for this project. Mr. Leifert read his memo into the record. Commissioner Riley asked about the encroachments into the state right-of-way. Mr. Lucia moted that he will move the vehicles parked in the ROW once the building is up. Mr. Leifert moted that the handicap parking spaces need to be marked and striped properly. MOTION by Commissioner Greco to APPROVE site plan #1533 with conditions as read into the record. Motion seconded by Commissioner Telman. Motion passed unanimously. c. Site Plan Application #1535 Location: 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 – Engineering/Public Works Proposal: Site Development of Park Land, Parking Lot, and Multi-use Trail Mr. Leifert noted that the engineering department is still working with their consultant on final plans and outreach to the neighborhood of the proposed project, so they asked that the application be tabled to the next meeting. MOTION by Commissioner Greco to TABLE site plan application #1535 to the next meeting. Seconded by Commissioner Bobinski. Motion passed unanimously. Torrington Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes – October 9, 2024 Page 2 of 3 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 and Batchy Brew at 1050 East Main Street. 6. New Business: b. Site Plan Application #1534 Location: 1058 Litchfield Street, Assessor’s Map 102 Block 006 Lot 012 Applicant: Ken Hrica, Hrica Associates for Keystone Place Proposal: Conversion of two temporary construction parking areas into permanent parking lots Ken Hrica of Hrica Associates presented new plans to convert two existing parking lots to permanent parking. Mr. Hrica shared plans remotely for review. The two additions to the existing building in progress on the site make it necessary to move some parking. 7 spaces are located to the rear of the building and another lot for 20 spaces on the south side of the property that is being used currently for temporary parking. No considerable grading will be necessary – only paving of the current temporary lots. Mr. Hrica went over additional landscaping and lighting proposals around the lots, and he believes these to be compliant with the regulations and blend well with the landscape. The 7-lot parking lot will be for staff only and will be in grass pavers that are pervious. Mr. Riley asked how long the temporary lot has been in use. Mr. Hrica responded only 3-4 weeks to date. Mr. Leifert read his memo into the record. MOTION by Commissioner Greco to APPROVE site plan #1534 with conditions as read into the record. Motion seconded by Commissioner Telman. Motion passed unanimously. 8. Adjournment: MOTION by Commissioner Telman to adjourn the meeting at 7:52 pm. Motion seconded by Commissioner Greco. Motion passed unanimously. Torrington Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes – October 9, 2024 Page 3 of 3