#MiddleburyCT #SouthfordPark
By MARJORIE NEEDHAM
The previously approved Southford Park distribution center project came back before the Economic Development Commission (EDC), Conservation Commission (CC) and Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) in the form of an application for site plan modifications. Two of the three commissions – the EDC and the CC – that have the current Southford Park application for modifications before them met Tuesday, May 28. The third commission, Planning and Zoning, will meet June 6.
On May 28, the Southford Park project went one for one with the EDC, which chose not to recommend the original project, choosing not to recommend the modified plans and the CC, which approved the original plan, approving the modifications.
The EDC outlined their reasons in an 11-page report submitted by memo to Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman Terry Smith. The report concluded the project does not meet the spirit or letter of the architectural guidelines and no architectural changes could bring it into adherence with those guidelines. The EDC made and passed a motion to not recommend the project.
The new application is for approval of modifications to the original site plan. A new engineering firm, VHB of Wethersfield, Conn., is involved, and Flint Development of Prairie Village, Kan., is expected to become the developer if the modifications are approved.
When the EDC chose not to recommend the original project, it said it felt the project should not be approved because the EDC was concerned about its suitability and its potential negative consequences for the town’s economy and development and felt the design threatened to overshadow residential areas and schools and compromise the town’s traditional character. It also said there were alarming issues about traffic, questionable tax benefits, and adverse effects on property values.
The CC took a more favorable view of both the original application and the current application and approved both. It found, in part, the reports and testimony of the applicant’s professionals credible and agreed with their conclusions. The application for modifications was approved with seven conditions, all of which appear to be routine.
Attorney Ned Fitzpatrick and others representing Southford Park had explained the modifications reduce the square footage of the buildings by 2,100 sq. ft. and the impervious surface by 5,000 sq. ft. VHB senior engineer Mark Grocki said the original SLR plan showed 8.72 disturbed acres while the VHB plan shows 8.71 acres of disturbed acres. In the revised plan, the number of parking spaces is reduced to 284 from the original 409, and the spaces are relocated next to the buildings, eliminating the large parking lot in the original plan. The number of tractor trailer parking spaces is reduced to 166 from 168.
