Old Lyme Zoning Commission to Open Public Hearing on HROD Proposal at its Upcoming Monday Meeting
OLD LYME — The Halls Road Improvements Committee (HRIC) has shared with us a letter that the chair of the committee, Edie Twining, recently submitted to the Old Lyme (OL) Planning Commission. Her letter was in response to concerns raised by the Planning Commission in the minutes of their Nov.10, 2022 meeting. Those minutes state that the Planning Commission would be issuing a negative referral of the application.
According to the minutes, the reason for the negative referral was that, “… while the idea of this [Halls Road Overlay District (HROD)] zone had merit, many of the specifics were problematic and would not result in the desired outcome. As a result, the Commission discussed how best to relate its concerns to the Zoning Commission. The Commission members’ consensus was that giving a negative referral would obligate the Zoning Commission to see that these comments were addressed.”
A Public Hearing for the application to create a HROD is on the OL Zoning Commission’s agenda for Monday, Jan. 9, 2023.
The Zoning Commission’s meeting will be held in the Meeting Hall at OL Town Hall starting at 6:30 p.m. The full agenda for the meeting can be viewed at this link.
The letter from the HRIC Chair to the OL Planning Commission members, which is expected to be discussed at Monday’s meeting, reads as follows:
Atty. William Sweeney (for the Halls Road Improvements Committee) and Atty. Matt Willis (Council for the Zoning Commission) have gone over the proposal for the Halls Road Overlay District (HROD) in detail, making some minor changes (e.g. bringing capitalization and use of terms more in line with existing Old Lyme zoning regulations). The amended document now meets with the approval of Council for the Zoning Commission and Eric Knapp, the Zoning Enforcement Officer (ZEO).
We wanted to wait until the conference of the attorneys was complete before responding in detail to the concerns raised in the minutes of the Planning Commission’s November 10th meeting. This letter takes each item in turn.
“As drafted, it was unclear how the new overlay zone affected future development along Halls Road, and whether future developers would be obligated to use the HROD or could continue to use the C-30S requirements.”
The attorneys and the ZEO are agreed that the HROD creates an alternative to the C-30S zoning along Halls Road that is available to qualifying lots in the district through the established Special Permit process. Unless and until an owner applies for and receives a special permit to use the HROD zoning, the zoning remains C-30S. The granting of such a permit in one lot does not have any effect on the zoning for any other lot in the district. The original C-30S zoning remains in force for all lots that have not asked for and received a special permit to use the alternative HROD regulations.
As to the effect of the HROD on future development along Halls Road more broadly, it is the clear intention of the proposal that it will encourage investment creating, over time, a pedestrian-friendly shopping street along Halls Road in a mixed-use neighborhood including some of the smaller-scale multi-family housing in such short supply in Old Lyme today. We believe this mix will help ensure a more vibrant business climate for the types of businesses that serve Old Lyme residents, rather than businesses focused on highway traffic. The C-30S district in today’s business climate is most attractive to businesses serving highway traffic—a use the Planning Commission’s decennial Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) has always deprecated. With the HROD, property owners can expect investors with other aims to join in the bidding, giving Old Lyme some protection against Halls Road becoming a set of truck stops. The POCDs have repeatedly called for a broader range of housing types in Old Lyme. The Halls Road district is one place where smaller-scale housing would be appropriate. Its presence there would be a significant support for retail business, and would help to re-integrate our main shopping district with the rest of Old Lyme.
“Related to this, it was unclear what the unifying architectural theme was supposed to be. Given that implementation of the new zoning requirements would be piecemeal, it would be difficult to create the consistency required by the draft regulation, and the combination of old and new uses would not be an improvement to the existing conditions.”
The one attribute of new development that nearly all Old Lyme residents find important is that it should “look like Old Lyme.” The HROD addresses this shared concern by creating Design Guidelines with a clear design review process. The model is Lyme Street with all its range of styles. The proposed Design Guidelines present multiple examples of what is acceptable and what is not. The aim is to get tasteful, proportional designs that meet accepted professional architectural standards. The design review standards and process for HROD are explicit and clear. This makes life easier for prospective investors, as they can tell what is wanted from early on in their design process.
The HROD provides incentives to developers. It cannot order anyone to invest, it can only provide opportunities. The transformation of Halls Road from strip centers to a walkable shopping street may take decades. The current Halls Road is itself the result of decades of one-off designs: some better, some worse, and all different. It may be years before the basic look and feel of Halls Road is dominated by buildings made in accordance with the Design Guidelines. Does that interim period mean we should never start? We think not. We must start somewhere, and HROD is a good place to do so.
“Further, many of the obligations created by the new regulations would be cost-prohibitive or unfeasible, therefore the Commission urged the Zoning Commission to consider whether any of the “shalls” included in the draft regulation could be changed to “may” without altering the impact of the regulation.”
Investors determine what is “cost-prohibitive or unfeasible” and what is not. Their view of the matter is what counts. Given the size of the investment required, we expect these primarily will be professional developers. So far, we have received favorable signs of interest from professional developers. They are encouraged by the Town’s embrace of a master plan and look forward to seeing the details of the HROD.
In 2023 no developer of any size expects to find no restrictions or “obligations” associated with a mixed-use design-build opportunity—certainly not in New England. What they do want is clarity and as little ambiguity as possible in the business proposition. The HROD is very clear on this point. In exchange for building a small amount of first-floor front retail along Halls Road, investors can develop multi-family residential above that and/or on the land behind it. This is an attractive proposition, particularly to anyone with experience in mixed-use development—an increasingly active sector of real estate development.
The existing housing stock in Old Lyme (and in many shoreline towns) is so skewed toward single-family homes that there is a large pent-up demand for smaller-scale housing. That opportunity is the incentive in HROD. The price (building a bit of retail space) is relatively low. Both types of construction can be profitable, but a developer who knows nothing about retail might find the requirement to build retail space daunting. One with experience would not. The restrictions in the HROD are not daunting, they are clarifying. The developer who knows how to pursue the opportunity will take it, even if it means partnering with another who knows retail or residential better than they do. That is the nature of business. Our aim is to set the conditions so that investors make a profit and the Town gets the Halls Road it wants and needs. We believe we have done that.
“The thirty-five-day period for referral to the Design Review Committee is unworkable and will lead to poor results.”
This is a misunderstanding of the actual working process followed in commercial and multi-family residential development. When an owner or developer considers a new project, among the first steps is to find out what the town says can or cannot be done. Long before any formal application is submitted, developers work with the ZEO and other regulators to review their plans. At this early stage the ZEO would engage the Design Review Committee to review the preliminary concepts to assist the applicant in creating a successful project. Most of the design concepts should be worked out and meet the HROD guidelines well ahead of the formal submission of the application for a special permit. Thirty-five days from formal submission is the period of time in which the Committee must submit its recommendation to the Zoning Commission or default to an approval. It does not prevent prospective investors from working with the Design Review Committee well in advance of a formal application.
We hope this note helps to clarify any misunderstandings of the HROD proposal. We would welcome the chance to discuss further with the Planning Commission to gain your support of this important new regulation.
Thank you
Respectfully
Edie Twining
HRIC Chair
When any proposal is this worded and difficult to understand that should raise a red flag.
The HRIC frequent referral to “ thats what residents of town want” is dramatically overstated. As a town resident who attended many of the workshop meetings, many years ago, this small group hardly represented even a small portion of town residents., such a farce.
Before any proposal goes to Zoning that proposal should go to the voters, in the form of a non binding referendum, plain and simple.
Old Lymers like it small, keep it small.
I’m sorry you couldn’t bear to read the proposal, or perhaps just couldn’t decipher it. Reading zoning regulations is nobody’s idea of fun. Let me spare you the trouble and hit some of the high points:
1. Participation in the new Halls Road Overlay District (HROD) is totally optional. Nobody has to do anything new if they don’t want to.
2. The existing (C-30S) commercial-only zoning stays in place and will continue to govern everybody who who doesn’t ask for and get a “Special Permit” to use the HROD instead.
3. The HROD *does* provide an alternative to those who want it and can use it.
Under HROD, if an owner can build some first-floor front retail on Halls Road, they are allowed to build multi-family residential elsewhere on their parcel. This is a good way to encourage a transformation of Halls Road, over time, from a collection of strip centers with big empty parking lots to a walkable, bike-able shopping street in a mixed-use (retail and residential) neighborhood.
A great number of people in Old Lyme have said this is what they want for Halls Road. An attractive, living, mixed-use neighborhood is certainly a more supportive environment for the businesses that serve Old Lyme residents (as opposed to highway traffic). Today, the major investment interest under C-30S zoning is for more truck stops on Halls Road. That is most definitely NOT what Old Lyme residents want, but it’s what we’re most likely to get if we do not allow something different — and better.
The Halls Road Improvements Committee has been to the community repeatedly and often throughout the process of finding ways to protect and improve the future of our main shopping area. We have met with hundreds of residents and scores of Halls Road property and business owners, as well as with civic groups, developers, professional planners, engineers, and land use lawyers. The HROD zoning proposal is the latest part of an effort that has been evolving for years with constant community input from all sides, both formal and informal.
Halls Road is about 0.7 miles long. The district is a small area with about 40 acres of buildable land. We are not proposing to enlarge it. Our aim is not to make Halls Road bigger, but to make it better. The HROD will *allow* Halls Road to better serve the *future needs* of Old Lyme residents. A majority of Old Lyme residents want a better future for Halls Road.
If the HRDC is so sure of support for the plan why are they afraid to bring this to a referendum?
Like the majority of Old Lyme residents, i also want to see improvements to Halls Road such as sidewalks that connect to Lyme Street and a walking bridge connecting both sides of the Lieutenant river but beyond that let development come from proposals by private developers. We all know that retail business is moving online not to main street, How many existing businesses have indicated they will relocate as proposed by the plan? I bet the answer is close to zero. How many businesses see a financial benefit if they would relocate, i bet the answer is zero. Time for a reality check.
The overlay proposal is unnecessary and hopefully will be rejected by zoning and Planning.
Old Lyme likes it small, keep it small.
Why do we need a referendum? The Halls Road committee has assembled a team of lawyers and professionals who have drafted a plan with endless opportunities for input from residents. We do NOT need a town-wide vote on the project. Let’s go ahead because the town needs both the smaller residences and a nice shopping area.
I don’t think this zoning proposal is aiming to make Old Lyme Bigger just Better. So many of my older friends are forced to move out because there are no apartment type living situations for them in Old Lyme. This optional regulation would allow us old lymers to stay in town and even be right next to the commercial area. This is better for us if we no longer can manage the upkeep of a whole house. Also, younger friends and newcomers to town who are not ready or able to purchase a house would be able to rent living quarters here till they can buy a more permanent home.
Change is not something that Old Lyme has never encountered. A major change came when the ‘shopping center’ took over all the stores along Lyme Street. The post office, Spencers Market, Homesite Hardware, Bill Steeves Art Shop, James Pharmacy, Alice Rogers and many others all existed on Lyme Street and situated along side peoples homes. It was a ‘mixed use’ town center! A major change to Lyme St. through zoning created the commercial district on Halls Road 60 years ago. It separated the living, shopping and services from the town center. Back in the 1960s the town instituted this change working with the professionals of their day.
From what I understand the overlay district proposal is far less restrictive than what happened to Lyme Street in the 1960’s and it is totally optional for property owners to use or not. It has been carefully created by professionals in the field of urban planning and law. They have worked closely with our elected zoning commission who are far better at anticipating zoning concerns than most of us.. I trust that this proposal allows for more flexibility for Halls Road that over time may bring back the type of town center which we remember from “the old days!”
Town residents not lawyers and professionals will live with whatever happens to Halls Road, that’s why we need a referendum.