Editor’s Note: This op-ed is a response by Howard Margules to the op-ed by Jill and Russell Todd, which we published Feb. 5, 2025 on LymeLine.com. Margules is an Old Lyme resident and member of the Halls Road Improvements Committee.
Thank you for your interest in the Halls Road Overlay District (HROD) zoning proposal—I would like to address your concerns:
Developers Overstepping
You indicated that developers will take advantage of the HROD. The opposite is true. The HROD was designed to incorporate strict guidelines that currently do not exist. Large parcels of Halls Road are up for sale and we are likely to see new construction, especially on the very dated Hideaway side of the road. Developers will have to comply with the current zoning regulations, but they will still have significant leeway, and they easily focus on the needs of the highway travelers rather than on the needs of our residents. Halls Road could wind up looking like the sprawl similar to the four corners of East Lyme. The HROD guards against this. Our goal is to ensure new construction will be consistent with the architecture of Lyme Street. The HROD provides strict guidelines and offers an additional layer of protection that currently is absent in our regulations.
Design Review Board
You indicated there is no guard rail for the Design Review Board. The Design Review Board actually is a guard rail. It will consist of professional architects, whose task is to ensure that new construction is consistent with the architecture on Lyme Street, and not some typical cookie-cutter project. Its sole purpose is to provide oversight, and it exists only when the HROD exists. But it only acts in an advisory role to the Zoning Commission. Zoning has the ultimate authority and is the ultimate guard rail.
Zoning Rubber Stamp
The Zoning Commission has been anything but a rubber stamp. The initial HROD application was rejected, and It has now been revised in order to address their multiple concerns. Zoning Commission members have taken their job very seriously and spent a tremendous amount of time and effort delving into the complexities of the HROD. All of the members of the commission are both very experienced and extremely knowledgeable about zoning issues. The HROD has also been scrutinized and approved by the Old Lyme (OL) Board of Selectmen and the OL Planning Commission (who also originally rejected it), as well as receiving the endorsement from the OL Economic Development Commission.
Septic Systems
You are correct that new septic systems might eventually have much greater capacity. But for the foreseeable future, redevelopment will be confined to the larger parcels. Most of the lots fronting Halls Road are only one or two acres and that makes them less attractive to develop. Keep in mind Halls Road is less than a mile in length.
Parking
Parking continues to be a significant restraint to over-development, and I would assert that parking is a major expense. So yes, the HROD does allow free-standing parking garages, provided they are built at least 120′ from the lot’s frontage. They are under the same size limitations as any other building: three (3) stories, 35 ft. max., 20,000 SF footprint max. They are also under the same Design Review Board scrutiny, and must be designed creatively to pass muster. The size is small for a parking garage. It might be profitable in a major city, but it is unlikely to be built in Old Lyme. The cost per space is very, very high at this small scale. Cost considerations can change over time (even car sizes, as some of us know), so garages are permitted, even if currently unlikely.
Exaggerated Renderings
The renderings you saw at the Open House were used as the basis for creating the overlay zone. We provided Zoning with additional detailed drawings in order to assist them in picturing the actual dimensions. The longest buildings on both Lyme Street and Halls Road range from 147 ft. to 488 ft. Hence a 200-ft. building is in line with the proportions of existing buildings in town.
The Open House renderings were derived from scaled AutoCAD files and generated to envision what a town center could look like, not actual proposals. All new construction will have to conform to the HROD guidelines. The Architectural Review Board will make recommendations and Zoning will make the final decision. We realize there are renderings circulating that depict large “cookie-cutter” buildings. These are not what we are proposing.
Our Future
Halls Road is going to change since large parcels are up for sale. Our choice is to leave it to chance, allowing commercial developers to build projects that serve highway travelers or to provide incentives for future development that meet the commercial and cultural needs of our community, including alternative housing options especially for seniors looking to downsize and young people who cannot afford single family homes.
Introducing the optional overlay will position our town to better manage its future. The HROD proposal contains specific features that the residents told us they desire including: a vibrant, walkable and attractive town center, alternative housing options, a bike trail, safe streets, and a sustainable commercial center focused on the local community.
My guess is we both have the same goals in mind. But feel free to contact me if you still have any questions or concerns.
Events beyond the control of Old Lyme make the overlay plan that includes high density residential housing the wrong plan for our town, they include
1. The Connecticut Department of Transportation predicts a significant increase in traffic volume on Interstate 95 in the coming years.
2. The exit 70 south bound lane ,on this highway will be widened and extended to meet current safety standards.
These two factors will increase the traffic flow off the highway onto Halls Road for refueling and other roadside services. The changes from gasoline to electric powered vehicles make exit 70 south bound the ideal location for electric charging stations, an easy off and on event.
Halls Road is as much a service road to the interstate as it is the towns business center any changes must reflect this reality, the current plan does not.
To clarify:
1) Both the Economic Development Committee and the Board of selectmen ended up in favor of the HROD, however, neither was unanimous.
2) The interesting thing about zoning laws is once their in place it can be very difficult to change them. Therefore, if you make a mistake with a small zoning change it’s a small mistake. If it’s a big zoning change with mistake(s)?…………well you figure it out.
3) Let’s cut right to the chase:
The HROD proposal states there can be, “no more than 40 dwelling units per 1 acre of land” unequivocally.
HROD website 11-18-25
At last months hearing Bill Sweeney, the pro HROD lawyer stated in order to be more attractive to developers, the buildings must have a maximum of 200′ in length and a 20,000 s.f. footprint totaling 60,000 s.f. in a 3 story building. (200′ x 100′)
Forget all the design review, pretty pictures, and HROD promises. Bottom line is all about money. The BIGGEST BANG any developer will realize is by maxing out their effort within the Zoning regulations. No matter what any design review says, the zoning “hard and fast”, limits are what will prevail; therefore the developers will get their way.
Please sign the petition for responsible development of Halls Road and attend the hearing on Thursday, February 27th at the Middle School at 6:30 to have your voice heard.
Mr. Folland stated the question very clearly: should Halls Road become just a service road for Interstate 95 traffic or should that outcome be deterred by allowing development that serves the needs of Old Lyme’s residents and its retail businesses? As Mr. Margules and others have stated, the principal rationale for the HROD is to encourage the latter outcome. Please consider which one you prefer.
I am looking forward to the upcoming town meeting to get a clearer idea of what exactly might occur.In my feeble brain I cannot seem to bring together the needs of a road designed to serve cars coming off/getting back onto the highway happily meeting the idea of a pleasant residential neighborhood resembling Lyme Street.Almost every town along I-95 has exits off of said highway,but how did Halls Road come to serve the role of commuters aid?Can that role be adjusted somehow?How about changed?Though I have been here for 58 years(for better or worse)that is something I still do not grasp.Halls Road was where our local A&P was.That and the Limelight restaurant.It was always just a bland road.Do the town fathers want it to be a real revenue generator,a new and artsy neighborhood,or leave it as a bland road?I tend to fall where Sloan Danenhower is thinking as he seems to want to avoid Old Lyme becoming like Old Saybrook or Waterford.I certainly do.