Shelton PZC Approves 228-Unit Bridgeport Avenue Apartment Complex Plans

FILEShelton’s Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday approved a zone change and conceptual plans for a new apartment complex off Bridgeport Avenue, rejecting concerns that the proposal might hurt downtown revitalization.

The 4 – 2 approval pared down the original number of units contained in Talbot Partners LLCs application from 262 to 228, increased the number of parking spaces and garage spaces from 405 to 458, and eliminated one of the eight buildings in the proposal.

Chairman Ruth Parkins, Virginia Harger, Tom McGorty and Elaine Matto voted for approval, while Joan Flannery and Anthony Pogoda voted against the proposal.

The vote creates Planning Development District #76, an overlay zoning district that replaces the original zoning, which called for light industrial or office building use.

Talbot Partners now have two years to submit final site plans for approval by the commission.

The apartment complex is slated for 740 Bridgeport Ave., a 12.85-acre parcel behind the Courtyard by Marriott hotel, Planet Fitness, and Bertucci’s.

It is bordered on the east by Route 8, on the south by the Fairchild Heights mobile home park and to the north by Perkin Elmer.

In the resolution of approval, the commissioners rejected the notion that the new apartment complex would hurt the city’s downtown revitalization program, saying that the 600 apartment units planned along Canal Street meet only half of the 1,200-unit demand projected in a planning study compiled by the Shelton Economic Development Corporation.

State Rep. Jason Perillo, a former PZC member and longtime advocate for the downtown revitalization effort, raised that possibility at the public hearing on the Talbot proposal.

Pogoda didn’t give his reasons for voting against the resolution, but Flannery did.

She said she agrees with Perillo’s concerns, and felt it was inappropriate to use Planned Development Districts (PDDs) to allow residential developments on land that the city’s Master Plan for Conservation and Development designates for industrial or commercial.

The resolution cited the developer’s claim that owners of the property have tried unsuccessfully for years to develop it for light industrial or office use.

Talbot’s marketing surveys said there was a demand for rental apartments.

But Flannery said she didn’t think this parcel was appropriate for residential use, nor did she believe PDDs should be used for apartment complexes outside of the special downtown zoning district.

The approved resolution lists a dozen special requirements, including the reduction of units and the increase of parking spaces.

Among the others were conditions related to landscaping, refuse disposal facilities, lighting and modifications of the entry driveways from Bridgeport Avenue.

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