Planning & Zoning Commission Approves Use Change

Goshen’s Planning and Zoning Commission met on Tuesday, June 27th for their monthly gathering. All members of the board were in attendance save for board alternate William Clinton who was excused. Additional attendees included Town Planner and Zoning Enforcement Officer (ZEO)  Martin Connor, Johanna Kimball of Tywood Associates LLC, William Colby, and Scott Olson. The meeting began with a public hearing on the Special Permit application from Johanna Kimball to change the property use of 61 Sharon Turnpike from real estate to retail.

Public Hearing

Connor began the hearing by reading his memo of the property from Friday, June 23rd. He reviewed the application and visited the property but noted that it must be approved only after it’s determined it will comply with retail use regulations. These regulations include retail activity that won’t endanger the public welfare, vehicle access that is adequate to prevent traffic hazards and provide parking, will cause no adverse impact on natural resources, will maintain the character of the neighborhood and property value, won’t hinder development of nearby properties, will provide property landscaping activities, and will comply with water supply and drainage town standards. Connor concluded his memo reading stating, “In my opinion, the commission can make a finding that the specific and general conditions for special approval are met.” Kimball was then able to explain her application but instead allowed Commission members to ask her questions. Only Secretary Lu-Ann Zbinden asked a question in regard to who exactly are the owners of Tywood Associates? “I am,” Kimball responded. “There were two partners: my husband who is deceased and another gentleman from Florida and he is deceased. And so now I am the sole owner of Tywood Associates.” Zbinden then motioned to close the public hearing. This was unanimously approved.

Following the hearing, the Commission reviewed May’s meeting minutes. Two corrections were made: board alternate Jim Withstandley was not seated at last month’s meeting and that the last word on the Flora Road zoning violations should have been identified as busy, not business. Laura Lemieux then motioned to accept the minutes as corrected. This was unanimously approved.

For old business, regarding the subject of the Public Hearing, the Commission found that the Sharon Turnpike property met the specific and general conditions for the Special Permit, property use change application. Zbinden motioned to approve the property use change from real estate to retail for Johanna Kimball. This was also unanimously approved.

William Colby then introduced a property proposal for Buzziena White. Colby proposed a subdivision be made on the property located on 192 Kubish Road, “The property is around 77 acres total. The proposal would break off a 10+ acre lot here right on [East] Cornwall Road. The remaining 67 acres plus or minus, this here that ties into the backland and all that, would be placed under agricultural restrictions. There would be no development of that land unless it was to go through re-subdivision.” The 10+ acre subdivision would be used to develop a four bedroom house with a 24x24 garage, septic and well along a pre-installed driveway that was originally designed for agricultural purposes. Colby will submit a letter for agricultural designation in the near future. This proposal already received approval from Torrington Area Health and the Inland Wetland Commission (of which Mr. Connor is the Enforcement Officer). After Connor read his memo of the proposal from Friday, June 23rd, Patrick Lucas motioned to approve the proposal application only after Colby submits a letter containing a waiver request for open space and recreation and an updated proposal with corrected typography errors to the subdivision, site development, and septic plans. This was unanimously approved.

Connor then conducted his ZEO report. He noted that he spent a lot of time helping Colby, that the zoning issues on Flora Road have been corrected, and he issued several zoning permits. Connor also attended two Connecticut Zoning Enforcement Officer training sessions which dealt with dealing with difficult people. Cynthia Barrett motioned to accept Connor’s ZEO report dated Friday, June 23rd. This was unanimously approved.

The meeting ended with the Commission going over correspondence. Connor notified the Commission of an Omnibus Housing Bill that is awaiting signature from Governor Ned Lamont. Senate Bill 998 is designed to improve tenant and renters rights and overall housing quality by introducing new anti-discrimination rules, adjusting application fees and security deposit processes, and removing some online eviction case records. The bill originally included divisive land use reforms to provide municipalities with more affordable housing but those were stripped, instead only requiring the state to assess regional housing needs. Connor recommended the Commission review the bill as it may become law in the near future.

Zbinden then motioned to adjourn the meeting which was unanimously approved.