#MiddleburyCT #PlanningAndZoning #DistributionCenter
By MARJORIE NEEDHAM
Some residents attending the January 5 Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) meeting seemed unfamiliar with the public hearing process and/or some of the zoning regulations involved. To help both readers and this reporter understand them, we asked P&Z Chairman Terry Smith to meet with us to explain the process and address some of residents’ concerns. Here is what we learned.
Public hearings, always first on the agenda, follow a specific procedure. The applicant speaks first, without interruption. Then the commission opens the floor to public comments and questions. No back and forth between the public and the applicant is allowed, so answers to any questions they may have come later in the process. Smith said the attorney for the applicant, Edward G. Fitzpatrick, will respond to the January 5 comments and questions at the February 2 public hearing.
Once public comments end, members of the commission ask the applicant their questions. Since the January 5 public hearing was continued to February 2 and not all public comments have been heard, commission members have not yet had an opportunity to ask their questions about the text amendments.
When the members’ questions have been answered, the hearing is either closed for a vote or continued to the next meeting. There are time limits for public hearings as the commission is required to make a decision on an application 65 days after it is submitted. However, the applicant can ask for an additional one-time extension.
At the beginning of the January 5 meeting Smith explained the process, but a couple of residents still called out questions during the applicant’s presentation, and Smith had to ask them to stop. One resident started arguing with Smith, and he told them he would have the police escort them from the building if they continued.
“At this point, I don’t like feeling like the bad guy because I have to maintain order,” Smith said. “I understand emotions are high, but that’s the way it has to be.”
While the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act ensures the public can easily learn of public meetings and attend them, it also supports Smith’s efforts to maintain order during the meeting. To paraphrase Section 1-232, conduct of meetings, a person or group of people who interrupt the meeting of a public agency and render the orderly conduct of a meeting unfeasible can be removed. If their removal doesn’t restore order, the agency conducting the meeting may order the meeting room cleared and continue in session. This protects their ability to conduct town business.
Residents have voiced complaints about the size of the meeting space. Smith said Shepardson auditorium is the largest space the town has to offer. Some suggested moving the meeting to Pomperaug High School. We were unable to get the amount before press time, but we do know there is a rental fee for the use of school facilities.
People also complained about not being able to hear. Smith said he understood Zoning Enforcement Officer Curtis Bosco was going to get a microphone for the February 2 meeting.
Moving on from process, at the January 5 meeting, Joseph Morningstar said, “Why are we here tonight? How does it rise to the level of a public hearing? Is the process that corrupted?”
Asked about these comments, Smith said, “Legally, Planning and Zoning has to accept an application and has to have a public hearing.”
Residents said they were concerned about traffic on Route 188. Smith explained three state highways run through town, Routes 63, 64 and 188, and the town has no jurisdiction over them. They fall under the Connecticut Department of Transportation, and the state can impose certain conditions on applicants, such as the road widening it required of Cumberland Farms and Metro Realty.
Smith said, “In the site plan stage (when a site plan has been submitted to P&Z), we require the applicant to provide a traffic study and notify the state department of transportation. They will review the plan, but they don’t do this until the applicant has received all its local approvals.”
Light and noise pollution were of concern, too. For light pollution Smith said, “We require what is called ‘dark sky.’ All the lights shine down, and light doesn’t shine off the property.” He said there are engineering solutions to prevent sound and light moving off a property. “We can control a lot for light and sound,” he said. “If we get to a site plan, we will require controls for light and sound. We always do.”
