The Shelton Planning and Zoning Commission wants to wait and see how alcohol sales go at a new liquor store on Bridgeport Avenue before giving the OK for a personal training facility to open in the same building.
“Feel Good Fitness Studio” wants to open up in the second floor at 140 Bridgeport Avenue, a new building that now houses Chaves Bakery and Chaves Wine and Spirits. The bakery has been open for a couple months, while the liquor store is slated to open soon.
The fitness studio would provide one-on-one training, according to owner Kyle Goeller.
Goeller works from home and other facilities now, but wants to open his first studio in Shelton.
But he’ll have to wait.
The Shelton Planning and Zoning Commission denied his application for the fitness studio, without prejudice — meaning he can come back to the board with the same plan at a later date.
Commissioners cited parking concerns as the reason for their denial. Because only one of the first-floor shops is open, commissioners said they weren’t sure yet if a third business at the site would create parking problems.
“We felt we had a very tight site there,” said city planning consultant Anthony Panico at a zoning meeting last Tuesday. “We’re concerned about parking. You’re asking the commission to make a decision today based on only one established tenant.”
The commission specified three months might be long enough to determine whether there would be parking congestion at the site.
Goeller’s attorney, Dominick Thomas, urged the commission to approve the use because the training studio would only need a maximum of six parking spots, of which two employee spots would be located behind the building.
Thomas suggested those spots would be located at the far end of the front parking spot, away from where the bakery and liquor store customers would park.
Chairwoman Ruth Parkins questioned whether the gym customers would end up parking elsewhere.
“If you’re going to the gym and you don’t want to park in those spaces, you’ve got yourself a problem,” Thomas said.
After the commission denied the plan, Goeller said he planned to wait and try again, rather than go to another location.
Goeller said building owner John Chaves is a personal training customer, and the two hope to eventually have deals for other customers where they can get healthy food at a discount at Chaves Bakery after their training sessions.
Calls to building owner John Chaves were not returned.
