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02/21/2018 06:30 AMLong-awaited redevelopment of the closed Unilever property may become easier with the Feb. 12 Planning & Zoning Commission (PZC) approval of a transit-oriented overlay zone. The zone prohibits few uses outright, like tattoo parlors and adult entertainment. Warehousing and some manufacturing are allowed, and all other uses can be considered under case-by-case review of the PZC.
The new zoning regulations would allow by special permit uses like lodging, restaurants, recreation facilities, senior housing, and some manufacturing. Find the full regulation at http://clintonct.org/DocumentCenter/View/4759.
While most zoning regulations give the PZC little latitude in interpreting whether or not an application fits in the zone in question, the overlay zone allows the PZC to consider a wider range of uses—and to ask the applicant for a wider range modifications—in the applications that come before it.
The transit-oriented overlay zone would currently apply to the former Unilever property, which occupies roughly 20 acres at the intersection of Hull and John streets, though it doesn’t prevent other proposals from being considered.
“This overlay can only apply to properties within a quarter mile radius of the train station,” said John Guszkowski, the town’s consultant planner. Because the zone can be applied only to properties of more than 10 acres, “Basically, right now that just means Unilever.”
Guszkowski said it would be possible for other parcels within one-quarter mile to combine to form a property of more than 10 acres.
The Unilever property has been vacant for five years. The plant had more than 100 years of history in town, but in July 2011, Unilever announced that the company’s Clinton plant would close by the end of 2012. Since then, there have been interested buyers and plans to redevelop the site, but the plans have fallen through.
Getting new development into the vacant property, which is adjacent to the train station, has become a major focus of the town’s Economic Development Commission and Board of Selectmen.
At a public information meeting in October, members of the public expressed interest in a wide variety of uses, including affordable housing and industry. At the Feb. 12 meeting, the PZC removed earlier language requiring 20 percent of any proposed housing be affordable housing.
According to Guszkowski, “the next step is for a developer to come forward.”