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P&Z On Walsh Traffic, New Zoning Regs and a Vineyard for Branford

File Photo

More details about the Walsh Intermediate School project were ironed out last week with the Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Commission, and the public hearing will continue at a special meeting Thursday at Fire Headquarters. 

In other actions, the commission unanimously approved new zoning regulations for R-1 and R-2 residential zones last Thursday.

A public hearing was opened last week for a project proposed by the Vincent Giordano Jr. family to operate a vineyard on Buckley Road to provide grapes for his proposed winery. However no testimony was given, and the hearing will continue September 7.

The commission also approved construction of a new home on Money Island, which has about 30 residential lots.

Walsh Project Hearing Continues

The Walsh renovation and expansion project is estimated to cost about $88 million. The town is still waiting to hear the fate of an application for about $30 million in state reimbursement.

Diana Stricker Photo

Michael LoSasso (L), of Antinozzi Associates; and Phil Katz (R), a civil engineer with Stantec Inc., answered questions and concerns about trees, parking and lighting that were raised at the previous P&Z meeting by residents and by staff.

Commission chair Chuck Andres asked questions about sight lines at the access roads and the possibility of adding a right-turn only lane on the western end for better traffic flow.

At a P&Z meeting earlier this month,  parents and one commissioner voiced deep concerns about dropping their kids off at school during the construction period. 

Alternate commissioner Fred Russo expressed his concern at the previous meeting over obstructed views from the school’s entrance and exit. Russo was absent last week.

Diana Stricker Photo

“That’s a real safety issue in terms of sight lines,” Andres (pictured) said, echoing Russo’s thoughts. 

LoSasso said the traffic engineer, who was not at Thursday’s meeting, will address those questions next week. The applicants requested that the public hearing be held open until July 27 so that additional information can be discussed.

No one from the public offered comments at last week’s meeting.

The Inland Wetlands Commission has approved the project, and the Zoning Board of Appeals granted a variance in terms of height.

If all approvals are received, it’s estimated that preparation for Phase 1 construction could begin in March 2018, with construction beginning in September 2018. The project would not be complete until November 2020.

New Zoning Regs for R-1 and R-2

The P&Z Commission began looking at zoning regulations in R-1 zones after residents of Mona Avenue in the Branford Hills area complained about developers knocking down ranch homes and replacing them with duplexes.

The commission enacted a moratorium in August 2016 on new construction in R-1 zones to allow time to look at possible zoning changes. R-1 zones are located in areas of Branford Hills that are north of Route 1, and in the Town Center, and a small portion of lots off Brushy Plain Road. 

Diana Stricker Photo

Town Planner Harry Smith (pictured) said residents in R‑1 zones were concerned about developers building duplexes that were not in character with the neighborhood. In a prior report, Smith stated that most lots in the Branford Heights area north of Route 1 are about 4,000 square feet, and most are single-family homes that were built in the 1940’s and 50’s. Many of the streets are narrow or are dead-ends without cul-de-sacs.

The zoning amendments, which were unanimously approved Thursday, will increase the required lot area per dwelling unit from 4,000 square feet to 6,0000 square feet for two-family or multi-family homes in R‑1 zones.

Another amendment changes a request for a two-family dwelling from a site plan” use to a special exception” use in both the R‑1 and R‑2 zones, with criteria added regarding neighborhood development patterns.

A Vineyard for Branford?

With Permission

A public hearing was scheduled Thursday for a request by the Vincent Giordano family, owners of Branford Building Supplies at 1145 Main St., to bring in soil for growing grapes on a 6.5-acre lot at the end of Buckley Road. The hearing was opened, but testimony was postponed until Sept. 7 at the applicant’s request. Several neighbors, who wanted to comment on the project, left the meeting after they learned of the postponement. (The Buckley Road property in grey.)

The Buckley Road vineyard would support operation of the family’s proposed Pleasant Point Farm Winery at 22 Pleasant Point Road.

The Buckley road property is zoned residential, which allows for farming. The soil would be trucked in three phases.

Assistant planner Rich Stoecker said the first phase of the Buckley Road vineyard work is already underway and did not require P&Z approval. However, the proposed second and third phases do require P&Z approval because they are near coastal wetlands, which are under the jurisdiction of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). 

A staff report prepared by Stoecker included several comments and questions about the proposal. In addition, the DEEP recently submitted a report listing concerns about the proposed activities in relation to the coastal wetlands.

New Home for Money Island

It looks like there will be a new home on Money Island — to replace one that was damaged during storms Irene and Sandy.

With Permission

The 12-acre island has about 32 summer homes, and is the largest of the two-dozen residential Thimble Islands off the Stony Creek shoreline. The island, which once had a bowling alley and a hotel, was named Money Island because folklore said it could be one of the islands where Captain Kidd buried his treasure.

Lot 32 was purchased by the Marvinsmith family” of New Hampshire in 2016 for $195.000, according to Branford town records.

Bob Criscuolu, of Criscuolo Engineering in Branford, presented plans for the home during the Thursday meeting. He said the owner plans to remove the existing three-bedroom home and construct a new three-bedroom home in the same footprint. Criscuolo said it will be elevated about 17 feet to meet FEMA requirements.

The commission unanimously approved the site plans for the project.

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