Shelton developer Monty Blakeman said he’s happy to make intersection improvements at Nells Rock Road and Bridgeport Avenue as part of an approval for a zone change at the former Crabtree auto dealership there.
“When traffic flows well, the business does well,” Blakeman said Tuesday evening.
The Planning and Zoning Commission approval of a zone change at the site paves the way for Blakeman to develop retail, including a possible grocery store, at the former car dealership.
Background
Blakeman Construction wants to redevelop the property, and possibly bring a food store, a bank and a coffee shop to the site.
Blakeman requested a zone change — from “Restricted Business District” to “Planned Development District” — that would allow more commercial uses at the site beyond the car dealership.
Along with the zone change, Blakeman has presented a conceptual plan for what he’d like to build at the site, as required in the city’s regulations.
Even though the zone change has been approved, the conceptual plan would still need to go before the Planning and Zoning Commission for approval once Blakeman is ready to begin construction.
Specific tenants haven’t been named, because it’s hard to get a tenant to sign a lease while a zone change is hanging in the air, Blakeman’s attorney, Dominick Thomas, has said before the approval.
Split Vote
The Planning and Zoning commission voted 3 – 2 in favor of the zone change.
Commissioners Anthony Pogoda and Joan Flannery voted against the change.
Flannery had previously cited concerns that the zone change would allow high-traffic uses such as a McDonald’s to come into the site.
But other commissioners said they felt good about the zone change, and the power the commission holds to review any specific plans for the site.
“We still maintain control of what’s developed there,” said Planning and Zoning chairman Ruth Parkins.
Parkins said she wouldn’t be opposed to a food store at the site, although other commissioners have expressed concerns about how that would affect traffic at the busy intersection of Bridgeport Avenue and Nells Rock Road.
Conditions
The commission outlined some of its concerns in the approval, asking Blakeman to make intersection improvements. The commission also said that traffic from the plaza will not be allowed to exit onto Nells Rock Road.
Other conditions include landscaping work at the corner, a limit on the square footage of buildings and required buffers between the plaza and the homes behind it.
Blakeman, after the meeting, said he thought the conditions would be good for the community.
