Stamford Zoning Board Meeting: Hotel at 0 West Park Place, Zone Change for Halpin Avenue, and Administrative Approvals – January 7, 2025
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Stamford Zoning Board Meeting – January 7, 2025
The Stamford Zoning Board held a public hearing on two major applications: a proposed 10-story extended stay hotel at 0 West Park Place and a zone change to create overflow parking for Bulls Head Shopping Center. The board also entered executive session to discuss pending litigation, approved several administrative items, and continued one application to the next meeting.
Executive Session
- The board entered executive session at 6:41 PM to discuss pending litigation in Butter Holding Five, LLC v. Zoning Board of Stamford (application 223-46), related to a denied cannabis dispensary application. The board exited at 6:56 PM; no votes were taken.
Public Hearing: Application 223-48 – 0 West Park Place (Extended Stay Hotel)
- Applicant: Tellomore LLC (contract purchaser, affiliated with Wellbuilt Company) proposes a 10-story, 99-room extended stay hotel with ground-floor retail/restaurant space on a long-vacant urban renewal parcel (approx. 0.25 acres) encumbered by easements.
- Presentation: Attorney Lisa Feinberg introduced the project; Ray Mazio described site constraints and the proposed shared pedestrian/vehicle driveway; Celine Pather presented the architectural design (glass-and-aluminum facade with a steel frame look); Eric Rains discussed landscaping; Stephanie Odinath provided market analysis showing demand for extended stay lodging and letters of support from neighbors, UConn, indeed, and others.
- Key issues: No on-site parking (reliance on nearby public garages, including the Summer Street Garage), pedestrian safety on the shared driveway, sidewalk width reduction (proposed 11 ft vs. 15 ft required for retail streets), and compatibility with the historic Columbus Park district.
- Public comments: Michael Moore (Stamford Downtown Special Services District) expressed strong support, citing infill development and corporate travel needs. Mark Diamond questioned the historic design and purchase price discrepancy. Sue Halpern, Maria Apostolopoulos (Curly's Diner), Monica Twal, and Dave Adams opposed, citing parking shortages, construction disruption, safety hazards, and crime concerns. Dave Levy (Holy Lane Shoes) supported the project for diabetic patient accessibility.
- Board discussion: Members expressed concern about pedestrian/vehicle separation on the driveway, requesting a raised sidewalk or clear delineation. The board also asked for east/north elevation materials, a copy of the easement, turning radius diagrams, and clarification on the sidewalk width requirement (staff noted the property may be on a commercial street, not retail, so 15 ft may not be required).
- Outcome: Application continued to January 27, 2025.
Public Hearing: Application 224-34 – 19 Halpin Avenue (Zone Change)
- Applicant: 19 Halpin LLC (owner Jim Grunberger, also owner of Bulls Head Shopping Center) proposes a zone change from R7.5 (residential) to CN (commercial neighborhood) to convert a 0.34-acre residential lot into a 34-space overflow parking lot for the adjacent shopping center.
- Presentation: Attorney Lenny Brayman introduced the project; Lendy Andrea (engineer) described the site plan, including a one-way ramp connecting to the existing parking lot, EV charging stations, landscaping, and a pedestrian sidewalk. Matt Pop (landscape architect) detailed screening and tree preservation. The planning board recommended approval (3-1-0); letters of support were submitted from neighbors.
- Public comments: Monica Twal questioned the economic rationale and loss of a single-family home. Dave Levy (Holy Lane Shoes) supported, emphasizing the need for accessible parking for diabetic patients.
- Board discussion: Handicap accessibility was discussed—the lot includes two accessible spaces with a route to Halpin Avenue, but the board noted the lack of a direct accessible path to the shopping center. The applicant agreed to consider adding two more spaces. Board members also asked about visibility at the exit and requested a condition of approval. The applicant submitted a declaration of restrictions to ensure the lot is used only for overflow parking.
- Outcome: Vote deferred to the next meeting pending review of zoning conditions.
Consent Calendar (Administrative Approvals)
- Approval of Minutes: Minutes from December 16, 2024, approved unanimously.
- CSPR 1204 – Stanford Yacht Club (97 Ocean Drive West): Demolition and rebuilding of activity pool and kitty pool. Approved with positive recommendations from EPB, Engineering, and Harbor Management Commission.
- Extension of Time – Pacific House (66 Stillwater Avenue): Application 223-44 extended to March 12, 2026. Approved.
- Extension of Time – South End Pacific LLC (Pacific Street properties): Application 221-29 extended to February 23, 2026 (third and final extension). Approved.
- Administrative Review – 210 Long Ridge Road (Mosaic Senior Residences): Publicly accessible amenity space (PAS) plan approved. The trail provides 9.7% of lot area (above the 5% requirement), including benches, shelter, and parking.
- Administrative Review – 860 Canal Street (Rooftop Lounge): Noise evaluation report approved. Measured noise levels were within the condition’s thresholds; no complaints received.
Key Outcomes
- Application 223-48 (0 West Park Place hotel) continued to January 27, 2025, with requests for revised pedestrian safety plan, elevations, and easement documentation.
- Application 224-34 (19 Halpin Avenue zone change) tabled for vote at the next meeting.
- All administrative items (minutes, CSPR, extensions, PAS plan, noise report) approved as listed.
- Next regular meeting: January 27, 2025, at 6:30 PM via Zoom.
Meeting Transcript
Okay. That's Dr. David. Okay. I'd like to welcome everyone and call tonight's zoning board meeting to order. I'm David Stein, Chair of the Zoning Board, and it is 638 on January 6, 2025. Happy New Year to everyone. 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. Yuri Bozak. And um now the staff, uh Ralph Blessing. Here. And Benita Matter. Yeah. Uh during tonight's meeting, the microphones for the board will be on throughout. Uh applicants' mics will be on during the public hearing for their application. However, we would ask the applicant to please mute their mics for not speaking in order to reduce background noise. The first part of tonight's meeting is the public hearing during which the public has an opportunity to speak. Each member of the public will be muted until it is your turn to speak. If you came through Zoom, please use the raise your hand function and Vanita will unmute you when it is your turn to speak. If you called in on one of the telephone conference call phone numbers, press star nine, and this will raise your hand. Then press star six to unmute when you are called upon to speak.gov. And uh she will try to work out whatever issue you're having. When members of the public speak, please state your name and address for the record and whether you are in favor of or opposed to the application. The board requests that members of the public limit your comments to three minutes so that everyone will have a chance to speak. This meeting is being recorded and will be posted on the zoning board's website. And you can find the agenda for tonight's meeting and all the meeting applications and other materials by going to our website at WWW dot stamford ct.gov slash zoning. The first item we have on tonight's agenda um is a discussion regarding pending litigation in the matter of butter holding five, comma LLC, DBA butter cannabis versus the zoning board of the city of Stanford, application two two three dash four six. Um as uh many of members of the public know this uh relates to an application by um butter cannabis to open up a dispensary near um the boys and girls club at the Yearwood Center, and this was denied by the zoning board and butter proceeded to sue the zoning board. Um so the zoning board uh needs to go into executive session to discuss this. Um it'll probably shouldn't take us too long, and then we will come back. Um can I get a motion, please, to go into executive session? Second okay. Um any discussion. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Okay. Um, so um let's uh board members, uh, let's leave this meeting and um uh go into our executive session and uh to members of the public, we will be back, so just stay tuned. Thank you. David, you muted David, you're muted. No one answered. Okay. Okay. Um favor say aye. Okay. The uh so the board went into executive session at six forty one. We came out at six fifty six. No votes were taken.
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