Note: The transcript indicates the meeting was called to order on September 9, 2024 at 6:30 PM, but the provided instruction states the meeting took place on September 10, 2024. This summary uses the instructed date.
The Zoning Board met virtually via Zoom to address administrative items and a major text change application for the River Bend Center. The board approved three administrative items and heard public testimony on the proposed zoning regulation amendment.
David, we can get started. Okay. I'd like to welcome everyone and call tonight's zoning board meeting to order. It is 6 30 on September 9, 2024. I'm David Stein, Chair of the Zoning Board, and the members of the board and the staff are holding this meeting by Zoom video conference. The public is in attendance both on video conference and by telephone. First, I'd like to do a roll call of the board and the staff. Bill Morris. Here. Roseanne McManus. Here. Jerry Bozak. Here. Raquel Smith Anderson. Raquel. I'm here. Okay. Ralph Blessing. Present. And Vanita Mater. Here. Okay. The board's microphones will be open throughout the hearing tonight. The applicant's microphones will be open during the public hearing while their application is being heard. However, I would ask the applicants to please mute their mics for not speaking in order to reduce any background noise. After we get through a couple of administrative items, uh the first part of tonight's meeting will be the public hearing portion during which the public will have the opportunity to speak. Each member of the public will be muted until it is your turn to speak. If you came in through Zoom, please use the raise your hand function and you will be unmuted when it's your turn. If you called in on one of the telephone conference call phone numbers, press star nine, and that will raise your hand, and we will see that.gov slash zoning.gov. Um before we do, I'd like the minutes to show that uh Raquel Smith Anderson is seated as a voting member for tonight's meeting. TJ H senior living LLC, zero Long Ridge Road, aka 210 Long Ridge Road, site site and architectural plans and or requested uses. And also there's a request from traffic the traffic department to modify one of the conditions of our approval to provide that the applicant instead of doing certain sidewalk and traffic work would give a check to the uh city at the time of building permit. Um so that the city would have the work done. Um so that'd be in lieu of the the applicant doing it. Um so um let's start with uh the change of condition uh number four uh on our previous approval. And I see we have uh Luke Buttenweiser from the uh traffic department from TTP. Luke, you wanna take us through what's being requested here? Yes, thank you, uh Chair. Um so the uh transportation traffic and parking department in 2021 completed uh design plans that were subsequently approved by the Connecticut Department of Transportation for the construction of a sidewalk along the west side of Longridge Road from Bullshead up to River Ridge Cork, which is essentially where that Sonoko gas station is. Um associated with that sidewalk work is new pedestrian traffic signals, new crosswalks, and new bus shelters. Um since then the city has received a $1 million grant from the state of Connecticut um to uh construct this. And um this request tonight is instead of the applicant building the section of sidewalk in front of their um property frontage, it's to have a check conveyed to our department um to build the sidewalk directly, as the current engineers um estimate is 1.4 million dollars. So uh between the state grant and the um developer being loop, uh it'll be 100% um paid for, not by the city, I should say. And um, we are um planning on starting construction of the sidewalk this spring um in 2025. So um this is the opportune time for us right now for the sidewalk construction. If you have any questions, um happy to answer. Thank you. Now, Luke, the um original approval also included uh a certain amount of traffic work um that the applicant would do. Um is that traffic work included in the work the city will now do? Yes.