ReZone9.21.06

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09/21/2006

Milford eyes area rezoning

Brian McCready and Chris Rhatigan , Register Staff

-MILFORD — The Planning and Zoning Board is embarking on a significant project that includes rezoning the Devon and Walnut Beach sections, largely in an effort to create an arts district zone and to prevent high-density apartment complexes there.

PZB Chairman John Jansen, R-1, said the zoning board would over coming months hold public forums in Walnut Beach and the Village of Devon in an effort to solicit opinions from residents.

"We want to solicit a variety of options," Jansen said. "We want the public’s help."

Jansen said PZB members have been concerned for some time about some irregular zones for Walnut Beach and Devon, especially allowing high-density apartment complexes along a section of Naugatuck Avenue. Another high priority for the board is to establish an arts district zone in Walnut Beach at the end of Naugatuck Avenue.

Board members also are going to ensure proper aesthetics of proposed buildings in Devon and Walnut Beach. Jansen said the PZB is making a concerted effort to help spruce up the appearance of Devon and Walnut Beach just as it did for the Boston Post Road.

"Anyone who remodels or builds something there, it’s going to have to be nice," Jansen said.

The fundamental problem with zoning regulations in Devon and Walnut Beach is that they are the same, Jansen said. Currently, Walnut Beach and Devon are both zoned for mixed-use development, which allows for a commercial use on the first floor, and two floors of residential use.

Jansen said a committee consisting of Nanci Seltzer, R-3, and Frank J. Goodrich, R-3, has begun to look for irregularities. He said everything is up for consideration.

However, he said Bridgeport Avenue’s mixed use zone appears fine. Consequently, a proposal by developer Smith Craft Real Estate Corp. calling for a large-scale retail-residential project is conceptually admissible.

The bigger issue is Naugatuck Avenue, which consists of mixed use properties, a car dealer, a factory, and single and multi-family units. Also, Jansen said a section of Naugatuck Avenue near the Firehouse Arts Gallery and the Stowe Farm property the city purchased in 2002 would make a nice arts district.

Kim Rose, a community activist who fought against a high-density housing proposal for Naugatuck Avenue, said rezoning would benefit the area.

"I would certainly be pleased. I wish they had thought of that before," she said.

Rose added she was skeptical the PZB would act in favor of the residents, saying the board didn’t consider residents at all during the Naugatuck Avenue proceedings.

Walnut Beach Association President Richard Coda could not be reached for comment.

Economic and Community Development Director Robert Gregory, who is a member of the Devon Revitalization committee, said resident input is critical. He said residents might not want an artist to turn their home into a foundry where they do mental sculpting, which could make a lot of noise.

Jansen stressed that any existing development would be grandfathered in and any regulation changes would only apply to new development.

Jansen also said the zoning board would like to eliminate the possibility of high-density apartments for Naugatuck Avenue. The PZB was criticized last year for including in the Plan of Conservation and Development clauses allowing developers to construct an affordable housing complex on Naugatuck Avenue. Residents fought a 21-unit condominium complex; in the end, they settled for a reduced proposal.