Members of the Seymour Planning and Zoning Commission.
SEYMOUR — Members of the Seymour Planning and Zoning Commission decided to wait another month before voting on a request to rewrite its zoning language in a way that could pave the way for a live-in mental health facility at Villa Bianca, a wedding venue on Roosevelt Drive (Route 34).
About 35 people showed up at Seymour Town Hall March 9 to see whether the commission would approve or deny a request by Newport Healthcare for a zone text change. The commission opted to hold off on voting until its next regular meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. April 13 at Town Hall.
Newport is seeking permission to add the phrase “community mental health residential living center” to the RC3, or recreational/commercial, zone.
In order to open the discussion, commissioner Brian Sirowich made a motion to deny Newport’s request. However, after some discussion with the town planner and the commission’s attorney, commissioner Richard Peck made another motion to postpone the vote. Peck said he wanted more time to digest information the commission’s attorney provided about whether the zone text amendment is in line with Seymour’s Plan of Conservation and Development. The commission unanimously voted in favor of postponing the vote.
“This is to give the commission the opportunity to consider what has been presented prior to making their decision,” said attorney Bryan LeClerc. “They’re asking for more time to consider the effect and the impact of the town’s Plan of Conservation and Development on this. It’s now their time to do their personal and internal deliberations and come back and articulate their thoughts.”
A plan of conservation and development is a document towns use to describe how land should be used in terms of zoning, along with the type of development the town wants to see in the future.
Commission Chairman Rob VanEgghen said because the matter before the commission is a big deal, he said waiting until the next meeting to vote makes sense.
“Everything is just for us to deliberate now and if the members aren’t ready (to vote) at this time they’re not ready,” VanEgghen said.
The commission, by waiting another month, is still within the 65-day time frame it has to cast a vote. The clock started ticking when the commission closed a public hearing on the matter Feb. 16.
Town Planner Keith Rosenfeld briefly touched on the town’s Plan of Conservation and Development, saying there is nothing in the plan that specifically calls for mental health facilities in town.
The document does encourage the promotion of economic development, particularly along Route 34 (Roosevelt Drive), and creation of a diverse tax base. Rosenfeld also told the commission when they do vote, they need to consider if the zone text amendment promotes public health, safety, welfare and property values.
Residents Joan and Corey Firmender, who at the start of the initial public hearing on Jan. 12 submitted a petition with 128 signatures of residents opposed to the zone text change, were optimistic about what they heard last week. They said they felt the commission heard the many residents who expressed concerns about traffic, safety, property values and the property just not being the right location for the facility.
“I think they’re going to make the right decision,” Joan Firmender said.
If the language is approved, Newport would then submit a site plan to the commission, detailing exactly what the company wants to do. That site plan would also have to be reviewed and then approved or denied by the planning and zoning commission.
Newport is under contract to purchase the popular wedding and banquet venue, Villa Bianca, located at 312 Roosevelt Dr., as well as a house next door at 129 Squantuck Road. While Villa Bianca is still open, the business posted on Facebook last month that it would be closing later this year. The post was removed, and owners have not returned calls for comment.
Newport’s CEO Joe Procopio had said his company would like to convert Villa Bianca into a 42-bed facility (with six beds in the Squantuck Road property) with about 125 employees that would treat young adults for various mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders and substance abuse. Procopio also said about two-thirds of Newport’s clients are typically teenage girls, around age 17, suffering from depression, anxiety and trauma. Other clients, about 3 percent, are treated for substance abuse, he said.
