Zoning Commission Minutes 02/24/2004

CITY OF DANBURY
155 DEER HILL AVENUE
DANBURY, CONNECTICUT 06810
 


ZONING COMMISSION
(203) 797-4525
(203) 797-4586 (FAX)

 

MINUTES
FEBRUARY 24, 2004

The Executive Session was called to order at 7:00 PM by Chairman Jack Knapp Jr.

Present were Theresa Buzaid, Christine Cuhsnick, Theodore Haddad Jr., Kevin Hearty, Patrick Johnston, Richard P. Jowdy, Jack H. Knapp, Dr. Joseph Mooney, Lenny Silva, and Alternates Jean Anderson, Donald Kennedy and Helen Hoffstaetter.

Also present was Corporation Counsel Robert Yamin and Attorney Brian Smith from Robinson & Cole.

Mr. Haddad disqualified himself from this matter and Chairman Knapp asked Mrs. Anderson to take his place.

Mr. Silva made a motion to go into Executive Session to discuss the Proposed Settlement of Briar Ridge LLC vs. City of Danbury Zoning Commission. Mrs. Cuhsnick seconded the motion.

Mr. Silva made a motion to come out of Executive Session. Mrs. Cuhsnick seconded the motion.

Mr. Silva made a motion to accept the settlement with the stipulation as discussed to be drafted by Corporation Counsel. Dr. Mooney seconded this motion. Chairman Knapp called a roll call vote and the motion was passed with five AYES (from Mrs. Buzaid, Mr. Johnston, Dr. Mooney, Mr. Silva and Chairman Knapp) and four NAYS (from Mrs. Cuhsnick, Mr. Hearty, Mr. Jowdy, and Mrs. Anderson).

 

Chairman Knapp called the regular meeting to order at 8:25 PM.
 

Present were Theresa Buzaid, Christine Cuhsnick, Theodore Haddad Jr., Kevin Hearty, Patrick Johnston, Richard P Jowdy, Jack Knapp Jr., Joseph Mooney, Lenny Silva Jr., and Alternates Jean Anderson, Donald Kennedy and Helen Hoffstaetter. Also present was Planning Director Dennis Elpern.

 

Mr. Silva led the Pledge of Allegiance.



PUBLIC HEARINGS:

 

7:30 PM - Petition of Codfish Hill Construction LLC for Change of Zone from RA-40 to RMF-6 for 55-59 Padanaram Rd. & 2 Jeanette St. (#G09094, #G09095, #G09093 & H09010).
 


Chairman Knapp read the legal notice. Mr. Silva read the Planning Department Staff Report dated January 19, 2004. Chairman Knapp read the Planning Commission recommendation, which was negative. It was noted that the negative recommendation means that a two-thirds majority vote will be needed for approval of this petition.

Attorney Fran Collins spoke in favor of this petition. He asked them to look at the map as he described the surrounding properties. None of these lots meet the area requirement for RA-40 making them all non-conforming. There is multi family development next to these parcels and across the street. The applicant proposes to construct a maximum of twelve units on these parcels. This proposal would not have any access onto Padanaram Rd., all access would be from Jeanette St. He submitted a letter from the Department of Transportation (DOT) saying that if this proposal were approved, they would prefer the access be from Jeanette St. He then questioned how much research was done for the preparation of the Staff Report since the area calculation is incorrect, it actually is less than what was stated in the Staff Report. These properties are surrounded by RA-40 and CN-20 zones. He said the Plan of Conservation & Development (POCD) is not gospel, it is merely an advisory document. It suggests that isolated lots should be re-zoned to be consistent with surrounding zones. He said this change would add to the transitional area of multi-family that already exists. He reviewed the zone change criteria from the Zoning Regulations pointing out specifically how it applies to this petition. He said this is consistent with the Plan of Conservation & Development as well as the criteria for zone changes. There were no questions at this time.

Jeffrey Bruno, Codfish Hill Construction, said he wants to build eleven condos and keep the house at 2 Jeanette St.. He said he is trying to keep them affordable. He said this would be good for the area since it would eliminate two curb cuts on Padanaram Rd. He said DOT was in favor of this as long as they didn’t come out onto Padanaram Rd..

Chairman Knapp asked if there was anyone to speak in opposition.

Planning Director Dennis Elpern said he does research the information he puts into the Staff Report. The reference to the POCD saying smaller lots should be rezoned was not referring to this kind of situation. It was referring to some really small pieces of property. The concern is about traffic generation not about the size of the site or the number of units proposed. Padanaram Rd. is already extremely congested with no relief in sight. He cited the traffic counts saying how high they are now. The City has been trying to improve the road but even working with DOT it will probably be five or ten years before there is any change. Unfortunately you cannot resolve traffic problems like these simply by doing road improvements. This road definitely does not need any more traffic – it really could use less traffic. Concerned about long-term development on Padanaram Rd. because re-zonings of this nature will lead to further requests. Roads that are this highly congested do not become that way overnight, it takes years. The time to stop it is now, before the traffic gets any worse. Attorney Collins said the reason for the difference in area is that the surveyor had included part of the roadway in his calculation. Mr. Elpern questioned the why extra area was included. Attorney Collins said they only did it because surveyor ran the zone line to the middle of the street. Mr. Elpern said the petition is flawed since it includes land that they don’t own.

Attorney Collins then rebutted saying the petition is appropriate including the extra area. He added that of course there will be other applications for this type of development in this area, but it is not the fault of this applicant if others choose to request the same thing. That is not a basis for denying this application. These properties all used to be zoned neighborhood commercial, which at that time allowed condos. Much of this area was re-zoned to RA40 to slow the commercial growth. The traffic light was installed for the same purpose. Mr. Johnston said the difference between eleven or fourteen units shouldn’t be a consideration, but this road is only going to get worse if they keep adding vehicle trips to it. Mr. Jowdy said although the Planning Commission recommended denial based on the POCD, both are advisory in nature, it is not their decision to make. Jeff Bruno then said zone lines go down center of road, which is why they did it that way on the map. Regarding the minimal increase in traffic, the DOT letter says the State wants the curb cuts on Padanaram Rd. gone.

Pat Ruehl, owns 2 Jeanette St., said it was originally built for a small business. Meanwhile the zoning was changed and now they are surrounded by condos behind it and commercial businesses across the street. This was supposed to be a commercial parcel but the residential designation has kept it from being developed as commercial.

Mrs. Cuhsnick made a motion to close the public hearing. Mr. Elpern asked them to continue the public hearing because there is a report being prepared by the City Traffic Engineer.

Mrs. Cuhsnick withdrew her motion and made a new motion to continue the hearing specifically to receive the report from the City Traffic Engineer. The motion was seconded by Mr. Haddad and passed unanimously.
 

Mr. Silva made a motion to take a five-minute recess. The motion was seconded by Mr. Johnston.

Chairman Knapp called the meeting back to order at 9:27 PM.
 

7:45 PM - Petition of Kaplan Realty Group LLC to Amend Sec. 6.A.2.b. of the Zoning Regulations. (Add “Indoor Batting Facility” to IL-40 Zone).
 


Chairman Knapp read the legal notice. Ms. Cuhsnick read the Planning Department Staff Report dated January 18, 2004. Chairman Knapp read the Planning Commission recommendation, which was negative. It was noted that the negative recommendation means that a two-thirds majority vote will be needed for approval of this petition.

Attorney Neil Marcus spoke in favor of this petition. He said applicant is the owner of the property, which is known as the old Rodenstock building located on the corner of Kenosia Ave. and Miry Brook Rd. It is across the street from Danbury Square Mall where Frozen Ropes is located. Frozen Ropes is a batting school and/or practice range. They have outgrown their facility there and need much larger space. The Zoning Enforcement Officer decided this use does not meet the definition of a recreation facility. He thought it was a good idea but that definition includes open space or open area. Attorney Marcus said after much discussion they determined the easiest way to go was to try to amend the Regulations. He proposed that this really is a batting “school”. In response to the Staff Report, he said this would be a special exception use therefore it would require review by the Planning Commission, so it’s not like we would see a floodgate open and many of these batting schools would open. He questioned why they would need or want a definition, since it is pretty self-explanatory. He said the POCD is completely out of sync with the light industrial zone. He said it just does not make sense since the industrial uses are leaving us and what we are getting it their place is service and commercial uses. Industry is leaving Danbury, which leaves us a lot of empty industrial space. He then reviewed line-by-line the special exception uses listed in the Regulations. More than 50% of these uses are not industrial in nature. These uses are the economic base for the city. Suggested they consider whether Danbury is better off with a bunch of empty industrial buildings or possibly use them for something practical. Attorney Marcus then said he would have Bob Cascella come up and explain this proposal further.

Bob Cascella, from Ryer Assoc., said there is approximately a 15.4% vacancy rate for existing industrial space. He said the use of this building for this batting school would have very little impact on the industrial base, especially since they are only talking about 10,000 square feet. He said there is no demand for batting facilities but there also is very little commercial space available for this type of use. Attorney Marcus said they have outgrown the existing site and there is no commercial space available. He said the existing space has an unusual configuration and this new space would be a perfect square. They would be going from five batting cages to eight batting cages. He said it doesn’t make sense to say you could do this if there was an open space area but since it is entirely within the building, you cannot do it. He said indoor teaching facilities are always busier than outside ones. He then said the language is out of date for park and recreation facilities

George Smith, owner of Frozen Ropes, said he purchased the business three years ago. He said their business is to train from two years to teen years. He said they run offsite summer camps, last year they used Rogers Park. Their main goal is to make kids better baseball players. They also run coaching clinics for the parents and they always give Danbury kids a fifty percent price break. He said they need more space and currently are busting at seams.

Mrs. Cuhsnick then mentioned that the comments should be directed toward the language not toward the specific site.

Geoff Ball, 6 Ta'Agan Point Dr., said he has coached baseball teams for years and has no financial interest in this. He said it is vitally important to offer kids these things to keep them busy and interested in school. He said they also provide a service to the community by offering free coaching clinics to adults. This is all about the kids and offering them something to do in a positive nature.

David Kaplan, said he is the owner of the building and this is not just about losing a tenant. He added that it is about jobs and tax revenues for City. It is about being about being able to lease an eyesore. Most important it is about what is in the best interest for the citizens of the City of Danbury. Everyone wins if this is granted.

Chairman Knapp asked if there was anyone to speak in opposition to this.

Planning Director Dennis Elpern said he is not opposed to this business and recognizes its value to the community. But this is about what is the proper zone to allow this us. It shouldn’t be that you find a location and then get it approved to allow the use. It should be that you look for a location that allows the use. If you look at the purpose and intent of the IL-40 zone, you see that many uses that are included do not belong. He said he would like to amend the Regulations and eliminate many of the uses that are not industrial in nature. The uses permitted in a zone should have something to do with the purpose and intent of the zone. Some kind of relationship should be involved between the uses and the purpose and intent. Many of these uses were added because someone had a property zoned IL40 and wanted to use it so they added the use to the zone. This has nothing to do with indoor batting facilities but they are a commercial operation and that is where they should be located. He said he would rather see them rezone their property because commercial zoning would be in character with the area. He said there has been a steady erosion of land zoned IL-40 based on the premise that since it is not being used for industry, so let’s re-zone it as multi-family or commercial. The City leaders keep saying they should preserve the IL-40 zone but the Zoning Commission keeps approving re-zonings. These are decisions, which will have a long-range impact and should not be done incrementally.

Attorney Marcus rebutted Mr. Elpern’s comments. He said if this use belongs in a commercial zone, the broadest one is CG-20., and it is not listed in CG-20 either. If it is better suited to commercial then the City should amend that zone. He questioned if it is better to take existing vacant industrial space in Danbury or have to go out of town to find commercial space. He said they couldn’t rezone this property because there is a caveat in the lease that prohibits it. If amendment is not granted, then Danbury will probably lose this use. He insisted that the use is consistent with what is allowed in the industrial zone. He said he argued with the Zoning Enforcement Officer that this is a school. He said the businesses like this that are in Brookfield and New Milford are zoned commercial/industrial. In closing, he said he understands that continued economic development is important but this industrial space is sitting there vacant and this would be an ideal use for it.

Mr. Jowdy made a motion to close the public hearing. Mrs. Cuhsnick seconded the motion and it passed unanimously by voice vote. Mr. Jowdy then made a motion to move this matter to Old Business. Mrs. Cuhsnick seconded the motion and it passed unanimously by voice vote.

OLD BUSINESS:

1)      Petition of Kaplan Realty Group LLC to Amend Sec. 6.A.2.b. of the Zoning Regulations. (Add “Indoor Batting Facility” to IL-40 Zone).

Chairman Knapp said the public hearing had just been closed and asked for discussion.

Mr. Hearty made a motion to approve this. Mr. Haddad and Mr. Jowdy provided the following reasons:

·       This use is similar to other sports and playground facilities, which are allowed as special exception uses as well as a school, which is allowed as a permitted use.

Dr. Mooney seconded the motion. Chairman Knapp asked for discussion and/or comments and there was none. He reminded the Commission that due to the negative recommendation from the Planning Commission approval of this would require a six-three-majority vote. He then called a roll call vote and the motion to approve this petition was denied with five AYES (from Mrs. Buzaid, Mr. Haddad, Mr. Hearty, Mr. Jowdy and Chairman Knapp) and four NAYS (from Ms. Cuhsnick, Mr. Johnston, Dr. Mooney and Mr. Silva).

Chairman Knapp announced that with a five-four vote, this petition was denied.

Chairman Knapp reviewed the Correspondence consisting of ten Cease & Desist Orders. He then reviewed the For Reference Only listing public hearings scheduled for March 9, 2004 and April 13, 2004.

At 10:30 PM, Ms. Cuhsnick made a motion to adjourn. The motion was seconded by Mr. Silva and passed unanimously.