Homa Pump Technology on 390 Birmingham Blvd. Photo from Homa Pump's Facebook page.
ANSONIA – The Ansonia Planning and Zoning Commission approved expansions for a water pump company and a downtown restaurant at their monthly meeting on Feb. 26.
Munch Eatery Brings Bites Outdoors
Munch Eatery, which opened on 560 Main St. last year, is getting a backdoor patio. The patio plan approved by the commission also includes an outdoor grill, barbecue, and pizza oven, as well as a fire pit and bar.
Chef Mike Cotela, who organizes bookings at Munch, said that the patio will improve the restaurant’s ability to host events.
“As we started booking the hall, and people started to see what we can offer, the question has been: ‘Can we go outside?’” Cotela said.
Attorney Dominick Thomas represented Munch before the commission. Commissioners asked him several questions regarding noise. Chairman Jared Heon said that having music at events was fine – but he was worried about sound escaping the area.
Thomas pointed to fences included in the site plan and the unused space between Munch and the river. Cotela said that Munch runs the events it hosts, and that those events rarely run past 8 p.m. He said Munch wouldn’t allow noise to become an issue.
Mike Rizzo, executive chef at Munch, added that noise barriers are as important for customers as they are for neighbors. He said Munch had been considering ways to block traffic noises for its outdoor patrons.
“You are a very prime restaurant,” said commission member Tim Holman. “The area that you have is very prime and I can see that actually growing and becoming something that’s really great, and we just want to make sure that that’s instituted to stop anything in the future, because we do have some problems in the city with that now.”
Chairman Heon and commission member Maureen McCormack both congratulated Munch on its growth over the last year, and the commission approved the plan.
Munch is also exploring the addition of parking spaces on the neighboring property at 540 Main St., as seen on the site plan presented to the commission. This addition was not discussed in the February meeting and will require a new appearance before the P&Z to get approval.
HOMA Offices
HOMA Pump, a longtime Ansonia-based seller of wastewater pumps, received approval for the construction of additional office space. Jim Torony, CEO of HOMA, said that business is booming and the new addition will allow the company to hire more employees.
HOMA’s manufactured pumps are sold to distributors and cities across the country to help sanitation systems run smoothly. Ansonia is one of HOMA’s customers, in addition to being its home.
The building addition will include five new office spaces, which Torony said will allow for the creation of between five and seven jobs.
Engineer Mark Lancor presented the site plan to the commission. He noted that while HOMA had signed an agreement with the city in the 1990s to create about 90 parking spaces onsite, in practice the business only needed around 28. There are currently 39 parking spaces, according to a letter Lancor sent to the city.
The commissioners had no issues with the existing parking, and the addition was approved swiftly.
Mayor David Cassetti congratulated HOMA on the expansion in a Facebook post after the meeting.
“Thank you Chairman Heon and our Planning and Zoning Commission for recognizing the import of this project. We want our manufacturers to expand and grow creating additional opportunities for our taxpayers and adding to our grand list,” the post reads.
