As published in the Record Journal Tuesday January 8, 2013
By Russell Blair
Record-Journal staff
rblair@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2225
WALLINGFORD - The Town Council gave the Planning and Zoning Commission the go-ahead Monday to move forward with new zoning regulations targeted at redeveloping the lower downtown, but questions about the project still remain.
Proposals for the Incentive Housing Zone have been around since early 2008, when then-Town Planner Linda Bush presented the idea of creating an overlay zone for a 23.3-acre swath of downtown Wallingford that would allow the development of mixed-use commercial and high-density residential properties.
Plans call for the zone to include Quinnipiac Street, North Cherry Street, Hall Avenue, Meadow Street, North Colony and Center streets.
The zone would fall under an Office of Policy and Management program called Home Connecticut, which was approved in 2007 by the state legislature and would require 20 percent affordable housing.
Town Planner Kacie Costello said there was agreement that the lower downtown area needed help, but “the question is whether or not this is the right way to go.”
“Whether utilizing the Home Connecticut program ... is the best option available to the town of Wallingford,” she said. “I do believe that it is, but I also understand that there are some concerns or questions that are out there.”
Costello said one of the benefits of an Incentive Housing Zone is that the zone is coupled with design standards, meaning the area would have a more uniform appearance. Local zoning regulations cannot call for standardized design, she said. The new zone would also allow three- and four-story buildings with retail or offices on the first floor and apartments above.
The town would also receive payment from the state if the zone is approved and then again when building permits are issued. State statute calls for $2,000 for each planned unit and $2,000 for each building permit, but Costello said state funding had been reduced and the town could expect a total payment of about $70,000 for implementing the zone.
But several councilors and Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. expressed concerns that the state would have control over zoning regulations. Costello said the secretary of the Office of Policy and Management would have to approve any amendments or modifications to the zone.
“We live in Wallingford; we know what Wallingford should have,” Dickinson said. “I don’t like relying on people 23 miles away in the Capitol to determine that.”
Republican Councilor Craig Fishbein had concerns over parking and the fact that parking garages would be allowed under the new regulations.
“Perhaps we can try this, but on a much smaller scale,” he said.
Costello stressed that the proposition was an “overlay zone,” meaning current businesses and residences wouldn’t need to change. But if a developer bought property, it would be able to build under the Incentive Housing Zone.
Rich Figlewski operates The Dry Dock, a sober cafe on Quinnipiac Street. He’s open to the idea of redevelopment in the lower downtown, but doesn’t want to see the current residents and businesses priced out by higher rents.
“Not a lot of people down here are making a lot of money,” he said “People are struggling as it is.”
Figlewski recalled time he spent in Boston, where developers came in and rehabbed the Back Bay.
“A lot of the people couldn’t afford the new apartments,” he said.
But Figlewski agreed with others that the town needs more affordable housing.
According to Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman James Seichter, just 6 percent of the town’s housing stock is considered affordable. The state has set a goal for all cities and towns to have 10 percent of their housing stock affordable, he said. Affordable housing means that someone making 80 percent of the area’s median income has enough money for rent.
Planning and Zoning Commissioner James Fitzsimmons said zoning changes can spur new development, but it takes time. He pointed to the Yalesville Limited Business District, where new rules were drawn up to encourage businesses and housing developments to move in.
“It took 15 years,” Fitzsimmons said. Seichter said his commission would take councilors’ concerns into account and present modified plans later.
Photos by Dave Zajac – Courtesy of the Record-Journal
Above : Rich Figlewski, owner of The Dry Dock sober cafe, stands next to defunct coal silos behind his business. The lower area of downtown Wallingford is part of a proposed Incentive Housing Zone.
Below : The corner of North Colony and Center streets is also included in the zone.
No comments:
Post a Comment