NEWINGTON - Members of the Town Planning and Zoning (TPZ) Commission haven’t decided when to hold a public hearing on transit-oriented development (TOD) regulations for Newington’s two Connecticut FasTrak busway stations, but they seem closer to setting a date to hear from other town planners.

       The Town Planner for Windsor has told Newington Town Planner Craig Minor that he would be willing to weigh-in and the TPZ is eyeing Aug. 22 for that discussion. That’s when the TPZ is scheduled to reconvene, but commissioners said that the session with the planner will probably take place at 6 p.m., with the regular TPZ meeting at 7 p.m.

       Minor provided the update at the TPZ’s July 22 meeting. When the Commission met two weeks prior, they discussed the possibility of consulting with planners from other towns-those with characteristics similar to Newington-in order to see how other municipalities are responding to the call for TOD.

       The input, of course, will not in any way be binding, Commissioner Stanley Sobieski said at the July 22 meeting.

       â€�"We’re just listening to what they have to say,” Sobieski said. â€�"It may not fit what Newington wants.”

       Minor has already ruled out Cantaan and the possibility of exploring form-based regulations, which he described as a way to protect everything from building setbacks and physical aesthetics--traditionally in urban municipalities.

       â€�"That’s really not what we’re concerned about at Newington Junction,” Minor said.

       TPZ Vice Chair Carol Anest asked if the Commission could impose design standards, to which Minor said they could.

       â€�"We might decide that Newington Junction should look like a junction village,” Anest said. â€�"Design standards would take care of that.”

       As for the public hearing, discussions at the previous meeting indicated that the TPZ was shooting for a September date, but Minor suggested moving it back.

       â€�"We should give the public something to respond to,” he said. â€�"Because all they have is what they already know about TOD-I think we’d be doing a disservice to just say, ‘come down and tell us what you think.’”

       TPZ Chair Cathy Hall agreed.

       â€�"I think before we jump on it, we ought to know a little more about it ourselves first,” Hall said. â€�"Let’s get our ducks in order.”

       But some commissioners wanted to have it sooner than later for the sake of ensuring the best use of their time in addressing the issue.

       â€�"I just don’t want to spend a lot of time and hear the public say we’re going in the wrong direction,” Anest said.

       Commissioner Frank Aieta had similar thoughts.

       â€�"I wouldn’t have a problem with the public coming in for a couple of hours to give us their vision for Newington Junction, before we have our own concrete ideas. I don’t want to come in and say we have these ideas, and they have something totally different.”

       When the date is set, residents will get several weeks’ notice prior to the hearing, Minor said.

       The TPZ imposed the moratorium in order to allow itself time to draft regulations before having to field proposals from potential developers.