A Open Letter to the Residents of Old Lyme
To the Editor:
On Monday, January 13, 2025 at 6:30 pm in Memorial Town Hall, the Halls Road Improvements Committee of the Town of Old Lyme will present the Halls Road Overlay District (HROD) proposal in a public meeting of the Old Lyme Zoning Commission. Attorney William Sweeney will describe the details of this optional Overlay District and answer questions.
The Planning Commission has unanimously agreed that the HROD proposal is consistent with the goals and standards set out for the Town in its latest Plan of Conservation and Development (2020). Now it is up to Zoning to approve, reject, or modify the proposal.
The HROD is the centerpiece of the Halls Road Master Plan. Current commercial-only zoning does not allow the changes envisioned there. HROD creates the options needed to allow investors to help change the focus of Halls Road toward the needs of Old Lyme and not through travelers.
This is an important public meeting, and a chance to show your support for a better future for Old Lyme. I urge you to come and be counted; bring your written thoughts to read and submit, make a statement for the record. We need your support to carry this important matter forward.
Approval of this added flexibility in our zoning is a vital step in supporting the future prosperity and livability of Old Lyme.
Key Features of HROD are that it:
• Is totally optional; allows but does not require change to any property.
• Keeps our shopping area vital and focused on Old Lyme, not the highway.
• Creates options for much needed apartment/town-house-type housing.
• Balances our housing stock without using up our remaining open land.
• Promotes creation of a safe, walkable, bikeable, mixed-use town center.
• Follows Design Review process guides development to be “like Old Lyme.”
• Promotes significant new town revenues, reducing resident taxes.
Thank you in advance for your help with this important issue. I look forward to seeing you there!
For more information on the project, visit this link.
Sincerely,
Edie Twining,
Old Lyme.
Editor’s Note: The author is the chair of Old Lyme’s Halls Road Improvements Committee.
We are unable to attend tonight’s meeting, but for the record , we want to voice our support for the Halls Road Overlay District that Edie Twining and her committee have spent the last several years fine tuning to meet the needs of our community and address the objections that have been raised. We think it is time to finally move ahead with the plan and update our business district match the rest of our beautiful town as well as making it a safer area for walkers.