TPZ Changes Overlay Zone Proposal Near FasTrak Stations
NEWINGTON - A proposed overlay zone for the Cedar Street/Fenn Road CT FasTrak busway station area will do away with the half-mile radius target, instead focusing on selected streets near railroad tracks.

       That was the Town Planning and Zoning, (TPZ) Commission’s consensus during the Jan. 27 regular meeting, according to Town Planner Craig Minor.

       â€"It would be so that the regulations wouldn’t affect any residential neighborhoods,” Minor said.

       An overlay district is an area in which incentives are offered to developers that bring proposals compliant with yet-to-be-determined guidelines for what constitutes desirable Transit-Oriented Development.

       The TPZ is in the midst of a 12-month high-density housing moratorium put in place to allow time for zoning regulations to be crafted for the town’s FasTrak busway stations without the arrival of residential development applications. The moratorium was instituted in response to resident concerns regarding the perceived potential for high-density housing development to increase the demand for town services in a municipality struggling to bring in property tax-mitigating Grand List dollars.

       Town Planner Craig Minor presented the early stage draft at the Town Planning and Zoning Commission’s (TPZ) Jan. 13 regular meeting. The Commission has opted to focus on the Cedar/Fenn Road station before pursuing the establishment of separate regulations for the Newington Junction area.

       Under the tentative regulations, the area would maintain its industrial zoning, with a special permit process for developers looking to propose projects under a different use. Incentives, such as density regulation waivers, could be offered to projects determined to fit the community’s vision for development in the area, Minor said.

       The Commission seems to be on board with the concept, but a little bit more work, such as more clearly defining the term â€"mixed use,” has to be done on the draft regulation, Minor says.

       The TPZ is looking to dining/entertainment-oriented development for the area, as well as businesses in the medical and high tech sectors. The criteria for all of these terms need to be more clearly established, Minor says.

       The Commission will work on that, and then send the draft along to CRCOG, a requirement by state law, for review. That has to happen at least 30 days before a public hearing, which Minor says he is hoping to hold by the TPZ’s March 23 meeting.

       Then there’s Newington Junction-expected to be more complicated to draft regulations for. The Commission will likely pursue a similar concept for this area, although not an identical one, Minor says.

       â€"The Newington Junction area is mostly residential, so the type of development we want will be different,” he said.
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