Danbury Planning Commission Meeting - April 16, 2026: Mill Plain Road Gas Station Application Continued
Danbury Planning Commission Meeting - April 16, 2026
The Danbury Planning Commission met virtually on April 16, 2026, to continue the public hearing for an application by Mill Danbury Mill Plane Realty LLC for special exception and site plan approval to operate an automobile service station, service garage, and convenience market at 85 Mill Plain Road. The applicant presented revised plans and addressed concerns regarding underground storage tanks, environmental remediation, stormwater, and traffic. The hearing was continued to allow staff review of the latest submissions.
Consent Calendar
- The minutes of the March 18, 2026 meeting were unanimously approved.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Councilman Paul Rotella (representing the 6th ward, a resident of 13 Minute Place, Danbury) spoke in opposition, raising two specific concerns: (1) ensuring that fuel hoses are long enough to reach vehicles on either side, given the single-lane configuration between the pump island and building; (2) requesting assurance that left turns out of the station will not worsen traffic backups on Mill Plain Road during peak hours, especially considering a planned firehouse. He expressed confidence in the applicant's tank monitoring procedures but emphasized the watershed sensitivity.
Discussion Items
- Underground Storage Tanks: The applicant (engineer Larry Webster, applicant Sammy Jamal, and his son Jay Jamal) explained that the existing fiberglass tanks have about 9 years remaining under the old 30-year lifespan, but new state regulations allow extension to 45 years with added monitoring. They described continuous electronic monitoring (Veeder-Root system), mandatory monthly and semi-annual inspections, and line testing. The licensed environmental professional (Deborah Downey, Haley & Aldrich) confirmed ongoing remediation under the Connecticut Transfer Act, with quarterly monitoring of downgradient wells.
- Traffic Impact: Traffic engineer Mamud Rasan (Benish) presented a study based on 2022–2025 crash data (7 total crashes) and ITE trip generation estimates (49 AM, 52 PM trips). He stated that 87% of trips would be pass-by (55% per CTDOT conservative estimate). The level of service at the Mill Plain/Westwood intersection would be A, and the two driveways would operate at level D. The applicant expects bi-directional traffic at both driveways but is awaiting DOT restrictions. Queuing capacity at the pumps is estimated at 4 cars, with 4 fueling positions.
- Pedestrian Safety: Commissioner Kyocico raised concerns about pedestrians walking from rear parking to the building around a blind curve. The applicant agreed to add painted crosswalk markings to guide pedestrians to the side walkway.
- Fuel Hoses: Councilman Rotella requested extra-long hoses. The applicant (Sammy Jamal) confirmed they would install long hoses so that vehicles with fillers on either side can be served without maneuvering.
Key Outcomes
- The public hearing was continued to April 15, 2026 (next regular meeting) to allow staff to complete review of revised plans submitted March 23rd.
- The applicant agreed to a 14-day extension and committed to installing long fuel hoses and adding painted pedestrian crosswalk markings in the rear parking area.
- Staff (including Construction Services) still had outstanding comments regarding the sidewalk and crosswalk along Mill Plain Road and Westwood Drive.
Meeting Transcript
Thank you and welcome everybody to the April 1st, 2026 meeting of the Danbury Planning Commission. We will open with the roll call. Mr. Chiocchio. Here. Ms. Ostetter? Here. Mr. Nazario. Here. And Chairman Finalti is here. We do have a quorum. We will not uh seat any alternates. We don't have any alternates to seat at this time. Um let me open the meeting by reading the standard Zoom intro. This meeting of the Danbury Planning Commission is being held on Zoom as a virtual meeting. Even though this meeting is a virtual meeting, members of the public and interested parties continue to have the opportunity to participate in the meeting in a couple of different ways. You can participate via Zoom and see the audio and the video, or you can call in by phone and participate via audio only. Please be aware that we may have to mute your microphone or telephone to avoid an echo or some other background noise. Instructions on how to participate in the meeting appear on the City of Danbury website and all of the documents and materials that apply to the matters to be discussed during this meeting, including the agenda, are also available on the City of Danbury website. As always, if you have any questions regarding how to participate in the meeting, please contact the City of Danbury Planning and Zoning Department. As a reminder, the entire meeting will be posted on and can be seen on the City of Danbury website. We will follow the posted agenda as per standard practice. If prior to the meeting any questions or comments on agenda items were submitted via email to the planning and zoning department, those comments will be read during the appropriate portion of the meeting. Finally, please remember that technology glitches sometimes do occur. Please be patient if that happens. Commission members, the minutes of the um March 18th meeting were previously distributed. Unless there's any corrections or comments, I'll entertain a motion to accept those minutes. Mr. Chairman, I'll make a motion to accept the minutes. Thank you. Bob do you have a second? Uh second. Thank you, Ellen Second. Any discussion? All in favor, please say aye. All right. Opposed. The minutes are accepted. Let the record show our next regular meeting is scheduled for April 15th, 2026. Please note your calendars accordingly. We have no new public hearings this evening, so we're going to go right to item one under our continuation of public hearings. Item one, Mill Danbury Mill Plane Realty LLC. Application for special exception, site plan approval for automobile service station, service garage, and convenience markets, sections 3e2, 3e9, 5B2B1, and 9 with trip generation greater than 500 vehicle trips per day in the CA80 zone. 85 Mill Plain Road D14013, special special exception number 805. Some information uh regarding this application was uh distributed to the commission members. And at this time, I will ask anyone wishing to speak in favor of this application to speak now. Anyone in favor of this application. Does the applicant have anyone wishing to speak on their behalf?
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