Shelton PZC Approves Zone Change On Lauretti Property

The Shelton Planning and Zoning Commission Tuesday approved a zone change paving the way for a Torrington developer to buy land on River Road owned by Mayor Mark Lauretti and build a 36-unit condo development there.

The vote was 5 – 1, with commission chair Ruth Parkins and members Anthony Pagoda, Virginia Harger, Elaine Matto, and Thomas McGorty voting to approve the change, and Joan Flannery voting against. Click the play button to see the vote.

Immediately afterward, Flannery asked to read into the record a letter she said supports the theory that the land could contain an Indian burial ground, but was shut down by Parkins.

“This is a done deal,” Parkins said. ​“It’s over.”

Flannery said she’d send the document to state authorities who can look into the matter.

She has opposed the development passionately and has also worried the property might be contaminated due to a former industrial use.

The developer submitted documents during the public hearing on the proposal saying the site doesn’t pose health risks.

The official applicant, Country Club of CT, LLC, requested approval for a Planned Development District (PDD) zone change and a 36-unit condominium development, ​“Blue Heron Cove,” at 550 River Road.

The commission on Tuesday approved the PDD application. They also ​“conditionally approved” a final site development plan for the project subject to a number of conditions from local and state officials and commissions.

The plans must be submitted again — with more details and documentary evidence showing other needed approvals — by July 1, 2013, for the PZC to review and endorse. The developer can request that the commission extend that deadline.

The 9.3‑acre property is owned by Lauretti. Torrington-based ATA Realty has a contract to purchase and develop it.

The property generated controversy about a decade ago when the mayor bought it after the city turned down purchasing it for open space because part of it was contaminated with chemical waste.

FILEThe chemical contaminants are capped with a thick plastic cover and several feet of dirt.

Critics, including two former mayors, filed ethics complaints on the grounds that Lauretti should have given the Board of Aldermen the choice of only buying the uncontaminated portion. Lauretti was eventually cleared.

The commission’s Tuesday approval was subject to a host of conditions — it took about a half-hour for Harger just to read the multi-page resolution — including working with a neighboring cemetery to build ​“appropriate” fencing between the two properties, and making revisions to its landscaping plans.

The city’s Inland Wetlands Commission unanimously approved the proposal Nov. 8.

Click here to read the minutes of that meeting.

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