After quickly renewing several campgrounds at the March 21, 2024, meeting, the Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) turned its attention once again to the Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD). Since the last PZC meeting, Zoning Enforcement Officer Andrew Marchese and Director of Grants and Community Development Amber Wakley-Whaley have been working to prioritize the tasks outlined in the POCD.
The list is still preliminary and requires input from the PZC, and the board is looking to get input from other stakeholders. They would also like advisors from other boards and commissions—like the Economic Development Commission, Recreation Commission, and Historical Advisory Commission—and input from the public.
Some of the items that are high priority on the current list:
Prepare and maintain a list of vacant and underutilized industrial properties.
Promote renovating, rehabilitating, and reusing underutilized and blighted commercial structures.
Market industrial sites as explained in the Commercial-related issues section.
Create a vision for using the Staffordville School for recreational and municipal uses.
Continue and expand hosting events in the downtown area to attract businesses and create a vibrant community.
These are just a handful of the items on the list. As the town seeks to make progress, it will need to assess the resources needed, develop timelines, and identify milestones and deliverables.
If you would like to participate in the process, contact the ZEO or the grants and community development department.
Other items from the PZC meeting
While these items are not officially before the PZC, there was a brief discussion of some of the potential projects that have come to the town's attention. For instance, someone has contacted the Zoning office about the possibility of putting a business park at 80 West Stafford Road.
Further outside of town, 75 Chestnuts Hill Road (otherwise known as the old Millikowski farm) was bought by Lots & More years ago. The owner would like to put large mulch bins on the property and rent equipment out of the property but has not yet put together a site plan for the PZC. The property is currently zoned as AAA residential with an existing non-conforming use, but the board brainstormed ways to alter the zoning to get the dilapidated property fixed up and bring in business. Ultimately, they decided they wanted to have an informal discussion with preliminary site plans to learn more about the project and how it could fit into the space.
Then, on Upper Road near the dump, a solar group wants to put a solar farm on property owned by the Mordasky family. Dr. David Mordasky, who is on the PZC, was not present at the meeting, but the board said that if it is over two megawatts, the town has no control over it. Instead, it's under the control of the Connecticut Siting Council.
Additionally, Marchese said he had once again sent a notice to the owner of the Country Village Shops about garbage piling up, broken windows and locks, and more. Board member Ron Houle said he had received complaints about the owner of the body shop at 44 West Stafford Road working in the building before he had a permit to occupy it and begin work. The PZC also asked that any cars requiring bodywork be screened from the road, and that has yet to materialize despite cars being on site. The fire marshall and building inspector were deployed to look into the situation and inform the owner that he would have to stop work until all the permits were in place.