ESSEX — The zoning commission has continued to April 18 the public hearings on separate applications for a rebuild and expansion of the Cumberland Farms store at 82 Main St. in the Centerbrook section, and a 52-unit apartment complex with an affordable housing component on Plains Rd.
Both applicants agreed at public hearings Monday to extend the legal deadline for closure of the public hearings on the two applications. Zoning Enforcement Officer Joseph Budrow said the extensions will require the commission to vote on April 18 on the site plan review application from Signature Contracting Group LLC of Westport for the apartments, while the panel will have until June to act on the Cumberland Farms application.
The Cumberland Farms application includes a demolition, rebuild, and expansion of the existing store to include three gasoline pumping stations under an canopy. The new 4,250-square-foot store would include a public restroom, a new septic system, and lighting. The size of the canopy, along with the need for a third pumping station, generated the most discussion, and some objections, Monday.
Nearby residents Robert and Laurie Hernandez objected to the size of the canopy, which would be about 80-feet long, and the third pumping station. Laurie Hernandez said the applicants were ‘trying to jam and prototype onto a very small lot,” to build “something that would be at an I-95 off ramp.”
Joel Marzi, the town clerk who is an abutting property owner at 21 Westbrook Rd., said he has concerns about the size of the canopy, but would also appreciate an upgrade of the site.
Joan Wallace, who lives on the opposite side of Westbrook Rd., said she has concerns about the canopy, lighting, and also traffic flow, contending there are already traffic backups for vehicles heading north to the Centerbrook traffic light. Wallace asked if Cumberland Farms would be willing to proceed with an expansion and upgrade of the store without a third fuel pumping station.
Joseph Williams, an attorney for Cumberland Farms with the firm of Shipman & Goodwin, said an additional fueling station was key to the company’s plan to pursue an estimated $3 million expansion and upgrade of the store. Two residents, Kenneth Bombaci and Strickland Hyde, spoke in support of the project.
With several issues still under discussion, and approval of the new septic system still pending from the town health department, Williams agreed to continue the hearing to April 18.
The site plan for the apartment complex on a 3.7-acre parcel that would combine parcels at 21, 27, and 29 Plains Rd., including the long vacant Iron Chef restaurant property, has been filed under state statute 8-30g, which is intended to encourage additional affordable housing in Connecticut. The proposed 52 units in three separate buildings would include 16 units designated as moderate income housing. Each building would have a septic system, which requires approval from the state Department of Public Health.
One new development Monday came when lawyer John Bennet announced that he has been designated an intervener in the application process for Northbound 9 LLC, which owns the commercial building on the opposite side of Plains Rd. The building contains the office of Bennet’s law firm, and a local construction company.
Bennet said the objections to the project focus on the potential for “environmental damage.” Under the 8-30g law, the commission could reject the application only for public health and safety reasons.