The Planning and Zoning Commission met on Tuesday, Oct. 14 to review a series of minor applications and offer non-binding feedback on a project to renovate of one Danbury Rd.’s shabbier buildings. It was another light agenda this fall as the commission prepares for turnover following next month’s election.
The meeting opened with the announcement that Commissioner Chris Pagliaro has resigned from P&Z due to the sale of his home and possible relocation outside Wilton. Pagliaro was not running for reelection this cycle and so his term was ending in a few weeks as it was. Commissioner Eric Fanwick will also soon exit the commission as he is running instead for Board of Finance.
Early in the agenda were two signage applications for Kimco’s River Rd. property in Wilton Center. One is the new location for Starbucks, which is moving to the former Athlete’s Foot/Town Center Toys storefront. The other is a new restaurant called Natural Kitchen that will combine the units formerly occupied by Happy Wok and Great Clips into a new space serving poke bowls, bubble tea, smoothies and ice cream. Both projects received approval for their signage plans.
The Commission also held a pre-application hearing about a proposal to renovate 33 Danbury Rd.’s retail spaces and convert the second floor to six apartments. The building footprint will remain untouched, but parking on the site will have to be increased to account for the new residential use and the conversion of two of the five retail spaces into restaurants. The building sits along the Norwalk River and within the 100-foot floodplain, a topic that will be discussed in future public reviews with the Inland Wetlands Commission and P&Z. This month’s discussions at P&Z and the Architectural Review Board have been pre-applications hearings, non-binding discussions between the boards and an applicant about preliminary plans for development in town.
/
The reception from the Commission was warm, with Tomasetti saying, “Thank you for coming and investing in this building. It’s an eyesore.” He encouraged the applicant to make the landscaping and parking plans more robust ahead of submitting a formal application. Commissioner Ken Hoffman also asked whether any of the six apartments could be set aside as affordable housing and attorney for the project John Hall responded that they would look into it. In ARB’s review earlier this month, the applicant team agreed to explore a more modern architectural direction for the building exterior than was shown in the renderings at P&Z.
Giving Thanks and Tribute, and Looking Ahead
The meeting also included two brief tributes. Tomasetti added an agenda item thanking Commissioner Pagliaro for his years of service on P&Z, as well as the Plan of Conservation and Development effort and the Greater Wilton Center Master Plan subcommittee.
“We’ll miss his voice, as someone who has been thoughtful on the commission,” Tomasetti said. Vice Chair Melissa-Jean Rotini also thanked Pagliaro for bringing his architecture and design expertise to the group’s discussions with applicants.
Earlier in the evening, Tomasetti also extended condolences to the family and colleagues of J. Casey Healy, who was a fixture in planning applications in Wilton for decades as an attorney at Gregory and Adams. He passed away earlier this month.
“We’ve known Casey for a long time,” Tomasetti said. “I know he will be missed by all of us. He was someone who treated everyone, not just as colleagues and partners, but as family.”
Matt Mason of Gregory and Adams, who has taken over the River Rd. applications at P&Z after Healy’s passing, called Healy, “A professional and a gentleman.”
The next meeting of the Planning & Zoning Commission is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 27.