#MiddleburyCT #MSTA #1535Straits #Planning&Zoning
By MARJORIE NEEDHAM
More Middlebury Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) approvals are being challenged. This time it is P&Z’s approvals of a site plan permit and a special exception permit for excavation and grading for a 171,600 sq. ft. warehouse at 1535 Straits Turnpike in Middlebury. The town was served with papers on April 22, 2025.
In 2024, P&Z’s approvals for a 770,000+ sq. ft. distribution center/warehouse called Southford Park were appealed. In January 2025, the court ruled those approvals were “inconsistent with applicable law.”
The new appeal was brought by plaintiffs the Middlebury Small Town Alliance, Jared Port and 1530 Straits Turnpike LLC. The Middlebury Small Town Alliance, familiar to most Middlebury residents, was formed when applications for the Southford Park project were being considered. Jared Port owns the abutting property at 1498 Straits Turnpike. 1530 Straits LLC owns real property at 1530 Straits Turnpike.
Defendants in the appeal are the Middlebury Planning and Zoning Commission and Middlebury Land Development LLC.
The complaint states the Commission was illegally constituted with six Republicans and two Democrats, which violates minority representation rules. It then says the Commission’s decisions must be overturned for the following reasons:
- Commission members dismissed the public’s concerns that the use of the property had not been defined well enough for the Commission to evaluate its impacts.
- The use was defined as “warehouse,” but there was no on-site manufacturing, which is included in the Middlebury zoning regulations definition of “warehouse.”
- The Commission approved a prohibited use since zoning regulations prohibit a trucking terminal except for transportation of goods manufactured or assembled on the premises.
- The Commission justified violating its own regulations by saying it had previously allowed warehouses without associated manufacturing even though there is no proof the lack of manufacturing was considered in the previous cases.
- The Commission referred to and used the Conservation Commission’s approval of a distribution/warehouse facility on the site to justify finding compatibility and then accepted the applicant’s narrowing of the use to only “warehouse” to avoid conflict with zoning regulations.
- The Commission accepted a vague statement of use despite zoning regulations saying the statement of use was required to be “in sufficient detail to determine compliance with” use provisions and performance standards of the regulations.
It then asked the court to:
- Sustain the appeal, reverse the Commission’s decision and order the Commission to deny the application.
- Issue a temporary restraining order prohibiting any use of the zoning permit pending completion of the appeal.
- Such other relief deemed equitable and appropriate to the court.
A written response to the complaint is to be submitted to Waterbury Superior Court on May 27, 2025.
