PZC Considers POCD Consultants, Town Garage Application Withdrawn, North Street Country Club Special Permit PUBLIC HEARING TO BE HELD FEBRUARY 25TH

On January 28th, 2025, the Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) was called to order by Chairman Jonathan Carroll.

Present (in person) were Chairman Jon Carroll, Vice Chairperson Lu-Ann C. Zbinden, Commissioners Shilo Garceau, Patrick Lucas, and Alternate Jim Withstandley. On zoom were Commissioner Jared Denis, Alternate Jerry Abrahams, and Secretary Cindy Barrett.

Public Hearing – 38 Torrington Road:

Chairman Carroll stated that the PZC received a letter from Garrett Harlow, Public Works Director, and read the letter for the record:

 “…the Town of Goshen as the applicant and owner is not going forward with the proposed standalone building at 38 Torrington Road. And it is at this time we will be pursuing only septic repairs and additional work to the existing main garage building. For this reason, we are therefore withdrawing the current site application for the building.”

Carroll then canceled the public hearing for the proposed site plan application.

POCD:

The next item of discussion was the Plan of Conservation & Development (POCD). Janelle Mullen, Town Planner, stated that three vendors have submitted proposals. Mrs. Mullen added that the “price point was quite high for all three [vendors].” The three vendors included Planimetrics, SLR, and FHI, who quoted $5,000, $16,000, and $18,000 respectively. The town’s budget is $20,000.

While discussing the proposals, a member of the PZC brought up the concern that many seniors would like to “downsize” while remaining in Goshen. Mullen was asked if in the plans the consultants were in favor of including senior subsidized units for Goshen seniors only.

Mullen responded, “I think right now the topic at hand is truly how to embark on moving forward with the plan of conservation development, provided the budget that we have to work with. …. We can certainly get to that. Senior housing, housing in general, is a very important topic that seems very important and a little bit controversial in this town. So, we'll certainly be diving into that when the time comes.”

Mullen then pointed out that the purpose of the current meeting was to review the RFPs from outside consultants. She added that while she has crafted a draft proposal to fit in with the $20,000 budget the town has, she doesn’t typically see POCDs costing under $30,000. Mullen offered to work together with Spencer Musselman, the Town’s Land Use Enforcement Officer, to perform a plan update within the town’s budget of $20,000. Mullen added, “because it would be a plan update, working with what we have rather than making a big elaborate multi-workshop plan is something we would be willing to do.”

Mullen then explained that consultants are often paid to provide a plan which is then revised by in-house staff to make them more tailored to the town’s specific needs.

Mullen further clarified that the RFPs “…would not at all be a proposal for either FHI or Glenn Schalder [of Planimetrics] or SLR to write the plan. This would be for them to conduct the workshop and then with the funds left over for the town to pick up the pieces with the data that they've collected.”

Carroll asked for a total cost from at least two of the vendors and if possible, all three for the workshops and POCDs.

Special Permit Application for 777 North Street:

Steve Dutton and his partner Charles Mallory, partial owners of Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, applied for a country club special permit for a private and vintage collector car club at 777 North Street. Mullen clarified that the purpose of Dutton’s presentation was to have the application received as complete and to set a date for the hearing.

Dutton provided stamped drawings to the PZC. He went on to state the “use of the property will be set up for socialization and storage of vintage collectible automobiles by select individuals.” The selected individuals will be Dutton, Mallory and individuals associated with the Lime Rock Park and the Lime Rock Park Drivers Club. The range of member numbers will be from 8 to 24.

The gravel driveway will become an asphalt driveway. The existing fields will remain “sustainably the same”, according to Dutton, who also claimed that no vehicle repairs or maintenance will be done on site. He also said they will not be disturbing any wetlands or removing any trees.

Dutton confirmed the property will remain private. He stated that, “there should be no traffic impact on North Street,” that noise will not be an issue, and that exterior lights will be pointed downward. He closed his remarks by stating that, “It is our goal to be good neighbors and good citizens in the community.”

The PZC set a public hearing date of February 25th. Documents can be reviewed prior to the hearing on the town’s website and at the Land Enforcement Office. The PZC asks that any official correspondence concerning this matter be directed to Spencer Musselman, the Land Enforcement Officer.

Election of Officers:

Jon Carroll was re-elected as Chairman, Lu-Ann C. Zbinden was re-elected Vice Chair, and Cindy Barrett was re-elected as Secretary. All were unopposed.

Correspondence:

A letter from resident Donna Grenier regarding the proposed car club at 777 North Street was read to the PZC by Musselman. A portion of the letter read:

 “Must we, the neighborhood, go through the inconvenience to our valuable time by attending planning and zoning meetings every time there's a potential buyer at 777 North Street? … I am in opposition to a special permit to be granted to Mr. Dutton for a clubhouse or any business of any kind in a residential neighborhood. I once again ask that you give serious thought to what… this privileged permit will do to the future of a neighborhood of our homes and our lives.”

Musselman stated the letter will be on file at the Land Use Office for any who wishes to review it. It will also be attached to the file for the hearing.

Finally, a notice was discussed that was issued by the City of Torrington for an amendment to their nursing home regulations to allow conversion to multifamily housing. A public hearing concerning this matter will be on February 26 at 7 p.m. in the Torrington City Hall auditorium.