ZONING
COMMISSION
P.O. BOX 308
Monday, February 22,
2005
7:00 p.m. Town
Hall
I.
CALL TO ORDER
Vice Chairman
Robert Martin called the regular meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. Members Peter Chipouras, Robert Martin,
Lise Wood, and Alternate Members Jill Conklin, Jon Normand (seated for Peter
Klein) and Wesley Smith (seated for Anita Calder) were present and constituted a
quorum. Also in attendance: Town Planner Patrice Carson and Zoning
Enforcement Officer James Taylor.
A motion was made by Lise Wood, seconded by Wes Smith and unanimously voted to approve the Minutes of the February 7, 2005 meeting as written.
A motion was made by Lise Wood, seconded by Wes Smith and
unanimously voted to take the agenda out of order, discussing New Business prior
to Old Business.
IV.
NEW
BUSINESS
a.
Site Plan Application for Change of Use to Retail Store, Tommy’s
Supplies, 11 South Road, Unit 9, Ringwalt
Applicant
Thomas Ringwalt presented plans for his retail business, Tommy’s Supplies, to be
opened at 11 South Road, Unit 9, in the area known as Lord Somers Center. The business conducted would be the sale
of tattooing supplies (inks, fake skins, disinfectants, designs, etc.), office
supplies, artifacts, blankets, phones and a wide variety of items. Mr. Ringwalt presented the business
statement of purpose and explained that all of the chemicals to be sold and
stored, including inks, are water based and environmentally safe. The colors used in the inks are
sterilized. He has been approved by
the FDA, APA, and ISO and is devoted to making sure the art of tattooing is done
safely and in accordance with health regulations. As part of his business, the applicant
would be bottling ink to be sent out and sterilized and then reselling it in his
shop. He showed the Commission
samples of some of the items he would be selling. He confirmed that no actual tattooing or
piercing would be done on the premises.
The
applicant presented copies of the material safety data sheets and Mrs. Carson
noted that the Town Sanitarian, Steve Jacobs, had reviewd and approved the
application.
Jim
Taylor explained to the applicant that any signs to be displayed on the premises
needed Zoning approval prior to being installed and asked Mr. Ringwalt to
contact him regarding such approval.
A
motion was made by Lise Wood, seconded by Jon Normand and unanimously voted to
accept the site plan application for change of use to retail store at 11 South
Road, Unit 9, Ringwalt, and to refer it to the Planning
Commission.
b.
Other
There
was no other New Business.
III.
OLD
BUSINESS
a.
Discussion: Plan of
Conservation and Development
Patrice
Carson stated that she had separated the various tasks into groups in order to
simplify things. The groups she had
devised were: Soil-Based
Development, Aquifer Protection, Revamping Parking Regulations, Expanding
Business (with the emphasis on home-based businesses which would provide a basis
for growth into larger businesses), The Village District, Design District in
Somersville, and Ridgeline District.
Wes
Smith asked which Commissions were expected to take the lead with regard to
items that were assigned to several different commissions. It was discussed that such items would
probably require a meeting of the corresponding commissions and the lead
commission, if one was necessary, would be determined at that
time.
Lise
Wood suggested that a joint meeting be held with the Planning Commission to
discuss soil-based development. It
was explained that there are currently only two other Connecticut towns that use
this system and have regulations regarding its implementation. Reference was made to the portion of the
POCD which discusses soil-based development and it was mentioned that such a
plan would create less of a “cookie cutter” effect within subdivisions and would
probably promote more open areas.
It was noted that a soil-based plan may not necessarily work with every
parcel of land being developed.
Wes
Smith asked if anyone could challenge the Town’s decision to go with soil-based
development regarding a certain parcel.
Mrs. Carson stated that once a decision had been made by the Town, it
would no longer be open for discussion.
The developer would be required to comply with whatever the Town had
chosen to use as a basis for development.
Peter
Chipouras asked about the cost impact of soil-based development. Mrs. Carson replied that on the whole it
should be less expensive. There may
be a minimal increase in engineering costs if additional soil testing needed to
be done, but the cost of developing the site should be
less.
Lise
Wood asked if this type of development would increase the number of homes per
development. Mrs. Carson replied
that sometimes there would be an increase and sometimes there would be a
decrease. It would all depend on
the soil.
Robert
Martin noted that the Village District design should be a priority item as
well. He stated that the
Somersville area was very important, particularly in terms of architectural
design. It was the consensus of the
Commission that this was also a priority item. The question arose as to whether or not
the Town could be considered to have two separate Village Districts. Commission members agreed that such a
decision would prove beneficial for the Town.
Mrs.
Carson was asked to contact the Planning Commission and suggest March
9th or 16th as possible joint meeting dates for the
purpose of discussing the Plan of Conservation and Development, specifically the
issues of soil-based development and the Village District(s). The Commission would be willing to begin
the meeting at 6:30 p.m.
b.
Other
No
other Old Business was presented.
V.
STAFF/COMMISSIONER
REPORTS
No
reports were presented.
VI.
CORRESPONDENCE AND
BILLS
No bills were
presented.
A letter was
received from Connie Carenzo who had received email from residents who felt that
the Commissioners needed to be identified to the audience members at Town
Meetings. Mrs. Carson showed member
name plates that were used previously at meetings and explained that they were
not currently being used because they sometimes got in the way when applicants
wished to spread plans on the table for the Commissioners to review. It was discussed that the identification
plates should be displayed somehow in the future. It was also discussed that it was hard
to have all the Commissioners on one side of the table since when there was a
full Commission, staff and recording secretary there were 11 people and the
table wasn’t big enough.
Wes Smith
expressed an interest in attending the workshop on March 5, 2005. A motion was made by Lise Wood, seconded
by Peter Chipouras and unanimously voted to send Mr. Smith to the workshop
entitled “Connecticut Land Use Law for Municipal Land Use Agencies, Boards, and
Commissions”, on March 5, 2005 at Wesleyan University.
VII.
ADJOURNMENT
A motion was
made by Lise Wood, seconded by Jon Normand and unanimously voted to adjourn the
Zoning Commission meeting of February 22, 2005 at 7:55
p.m.
Respectfully
submitted,
A.P. Calder,
Secretary
Robin Timmons, Recording Secretary
MINUTES ARE NOT OFFICIAL UNTIL APPROVAL
AT A SUBSEQUENT MEETING.