These minutes are for informational purposes only. For official minutes, please contact the Town Clerk's Office.
PLANNING COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING
SEPTEMBER 24, 2002
CALL TO ORDER
John Loomis, Chairman, called the Regular Meeting of the Simsbury Planning Commission to order at 7:35pm in the Main Meeting Room of the Simsbury Town Offices. The following members were present: Susan Bednarcyk, Ernest Gardow, Ferg Jansen, Joan Howard, Carol Cole and Pamela Katz. Also present was William Voelker, Director of Community Planning and Development, and Leonard Tolisano, Senior Planner.
APPOINTMENT OF ALTERNATES
Chairman Loomis appointed Joan Howard to serve for David Ryan.
REPORT ON MEETING WITH BOARD OF SELECTMEN
Chairman Loomis reported to the members that at the meeting of the Board of Selectmen on September 23rd, Mr. Voelker started by addressing the Selectmen with regards to their statutory obligations for oversight of the Plan of Development. Then Chairman Loomis addressed them with a five-minute presentation on the work schedule for the Plan of Development, etc. Commissioner Gardow, Commissioner Bednarcyk and Commissioner Jansen were in attendance at the meeting. Commissioner Gardow reported that Selectman Mandel expressed concerns over duplication of effort with respect to public hearings, suggesting that public hearings be held jointly by the Board of Selectmen and the Planning Commission. It was reported that Selectman Garrity asked if there were any big changes resulting from the 1994 Plan and the
Commissioners mentioned the water supply situation being addressed, Iron Horse Blvd. being built (1983 Plan), and open space and economic development concerns being emphasized as results of the previous Plan.
Chairman Loomis told the Board that SCTV will televise at least one meeting per month, and he emphasized that the Planning Commission hopes to have maximum participation by the Board of Selectman and others. Ms. Joan Coe, an audience member, suggested putting the work schedule, the letter of invitation, and other items on the town website for greater access. Commissioner Cole responded to this report by stating that she does not believe there will be duplication of effort in holding public hearings, citing specifically that the informational hearings which will be held by the Planning Commission as part of the drafting process are separate from the official public hearing to be held once the Plan is completed. Chairman Loomis agreed that the issue of joint hearings is something to be addressed later in
the process. Commissioner Jansen said that input from the Board of Selectmen early on will be valuable. Chairman Loomis asked Selectman Romano if he had any input, and Selectman Romano said not at this time; he said the Selectmen would review the information provided at their meeting on 9/23 and he would get back to the Planning Commission with any thoughts at a later time.
REVIEW OF INVITATION LETTER AND WORK SCHEDULE
Chairman Loomis said this item was placed on the agenda just in case there were any changes to be made as a result of his presentation to the Board of Selectmen the previous evening. Since there were no changes, the members agreed that the letter should be mailed as soon as possible,
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September 24, 2002
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and definitely by the end of the month. Commissioner Cole asked about adding a line on the letter referencing that individuals could submit their email addresses to be placed in a directory
so that they could receive email updates about the Plan of Development process. So as not to delay the mailing, Chairman Loomis asked her to check into the process of creating the directory through the Planning Department staff and report back on that at the next meeting.
Commissioner Bednarcyk reported that she had obtained all the required addresses as discussed at the last meeting and was working with Lois to have the necessary labels created. Specifically, the following Homeowner’s Associations had been identified: the North Simsbury Coalition, the Mountain Farms Homeowner’s Assoc., the South West Homeowner’s Assoc., Wyngate, and the East Weatogue Historical District. She asked if the members thought it would be useful to send the letter to the various civic organizations in town, and it was agreed that this would be a good idea. Chairman Loomis asked Mr. Voelker if they would be able to get the letters out by month’s end, and Mr. Voelker said that Lois would begin mailing them out as the labels were ready so that they should all be out by the
30th. Chairman Loomis closed the discussion on this issue by thanking everyone, Commissioners and town staff alike, for all their hard work preparing the letter and addresses, and coordinating this large mailing.
ZONING COMMISSION REFERRAL
Application of David & Susan Johnson, Owners, for a Zone Change from Zone I-2 to Zone B-2 on property at 141 West Street (Public Hearing on October 21, 2002).
Mr. Voelker opened the discussion by citing the staff report and other materials included in the members’ packets, and mentioned that the zoning regulations for B-2 and I-2 are not tied to the site plan. The Commissioners need to examine the request from the perspective of the Plan of Development, and if the recommendation of the Planning Commission differs from the Plan, the reasons for this must be stated specifically in the referral. This is the first of two meetings with the Planning Commission, and the item will then go to a public hearing with the Zoning Commission on October 21, 2002.
Mr. T.J. Donohue addressed the members regarding the application, giving a history of the house and explaining how he had applied for a zone change to B-2 and was granted the change to I-2. The feeling at that time was that there was concern over retail use on the site due to additional curb cuts that would be required; this is no longer an issue since there is access and parking behind and through the restaurant parking lot. With I-2 zoning, Mr. Donohue was able to work from the site until a year ago, and he has since signed a contract with the Johnson’s pending the needed zoning change approvals. Mr. Donohue pointed out that the package store and restaurant immediately adjacent to this site are both zoned as B-2, as are other uses along the street. He said he feels that the Plan of
Development recommendation for this site to be R-15 is unrealistic.
Commissioner Katz asked Mr. Donohue to stake the back corners of the property prior to a site walk. The members agreed to have a group site walk and scheduled it for Monday, September 30, 2002 at 6:15pm. The members then discussed the Plan and why it was determined that the area along West Street was mapped as central residential. The Plan should show the intent, if not always the reality; in this case, the two were one in the same at that time. The members should determine whether that holds true today, and make the referral accordingly. Commissioner
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Howard cautioned that they should consider the best and worst case scenarios for possible B-2 uses, since there is no guarantee of how the site will be used in the future. She asked if there was
any possibility that the Simsbury Center Zone might be extended down West Street in the future, and Mr. Voelker said that would require a zone change, which might be something to look at down the road. The members will take the site walk as scheduled and resume the discussion on this application at the next meeting.
DISCUSSION OF “PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF URBAN PLANNING”
The members discussed this document generally with respect to the idea that the legislative body, in this case the Board of Selectmen, is the principal client of the Planning Commission. The overall feeling was that since the Commissioners are elected independently, their main client will ultimately be the people of the Town of Simsbury. However, to achieve maximum implementation, it is vital to keep the legislative body “in the loop” by educating them about the Plan of Development process, etc. Chairman Loomis asked the members to reflect on the following areas specifically, making note of what they found acceptable or unacceptable: pgs. 367-368 (basic requirements as to procedure), and pg. 371 (basic requirements as to subject matter). He summarized the thoughts of the members by
stating that the Planning Commission is responsible primarily to the citizens, but one way of meeting that responsibility is to work with the chief implementers of the Plan of Development, the Board of Selectmen.
DISCUSSION OF BY-LAWS REGARDING APPROVAL OF MINUTES
With ten days prior notice to all members of a proposed amendment to the by-laws, a rules and procedure change can be adopted by an affirmative vote of at least four members. Commissioner Katz provided the members with a draft statement to be added to the minutes section of the procedures based on the town attorney’s opinion. Commissioner Howard asked if it was necessary to make a formal change given that the attorney’s opinion has been provided. Commissioner Katz said that since the procedures are silent on this issue, any change should be put in writing. Commissioner Bednarcyk said she had received conflicting opinions on this matter and believed the subject to be addressed in Robert’s Rules. Chairman Loomis asked that the members be provided with copies of the applicable
section of Robert’s Rules and the Planning Commission Rules and Procedures for the next meeting. He asked Commissioner Jansen to create a draft of the possible amendment, and the item is to be placed on the agenda for the next meeting.
COMMUNICATIONS
None
STAFF REPORTS
Update on Jim Gibbon’s presentation on October 2, 2002 at 7:30pm
Mr. Tolisano said the presentation is scheduled for 7:00pm, not 7:30pm, in the Main Meeting Room. He said they will invite all land use commissions, to be mailed out by Thursday. He said
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the Commission needs to call a meeting and set an agenda for the presentation, and Chairman Loomis said he would call Mr. Tolisano the next day to take care of that. Commissioner Katz
asked if SCTV would televise the presentation, and Commissioner Jansen said he would be seeing Mr. Paine the next day and would ask him about it.
Commissioner Cole had the opportunity to ask Mr. Tolisano about the process involved in creating an email directory and sending Plan updates to the individuals in that directory. He said it would not be difficult and would just be a matter of establishing the parameters of who to include and then getting those email addresses. It was agreed to put the Chairmen of the various boards and commissions, as well as a designated person from the Chamber, the Watershed Assoc., etc. on this list. However, it was also agreed that members of the public could request to be placed on this list to receive these email updates. Chairman Loomis asked Mr. Tolisano to do the preliminary set-up with Lois and report back on this at the next meeting.
CORRESPONDENCE
Commissioner Howard mentioned a CT Landscape presentation to be held on November 9th in Waterbury if anyone was interested in attending. Mr. Tolisano showed the members the plaque awarded to the Design Review Board by the APA for its Design Guidelines. Commissioner Gardow asked if other communities have similar design guidelines, and Mr. Tolisano said they do, but they are usually very simple. Simsbury’s Design Guidelines are much more comprehensive and the graphics are very good. He said they were prepared using a $25,000 grant from the CT Historical Foundation, without which they probably wouldn’t have been able to be completed to such a high standard. Commissioner Howard suggested sending a letter from the Planning Commission to the Design Review Board congratulating them on
the awards they’ve received, and Chairman Loomis said he would prepare that letter, agreeing that was a good idea. Commissioner Cole mentioned an article in the Sunday Hartford Courant regarding town centers. The article stated that Suffield is going to create a town center. Commissioner Cole thought the members would find it interesting to see what Suffield does in this regard.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES of September 10, 2002
Chairman Loomis noted on page 2 that Mr. Paine’s name was misspelled. He also asked to have the final sentence of paragraph 3 made into its own paragraph, adding the word “work” before the word schedule. Commissioner Katz moved to approve the minutes of September 10, 2002 as corrected. Commissioner Gardow seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
ADJOURNMENT
Commissioner Jansen moved to adjourn the meeting at 9:23pm. Commissioner Bednarcyk seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
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Pamela Katz, Secretary
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