Business Owners, Residents Split as Commission Tables West Street District Change

Emotions ran high as residents of West Street and Welch Road took to the podium Tuesday night, expressing concerns regarding proposed changes to the West Street corridor that the Southington landowners said could negatively affect their quality of life.

While business owners and realtors largely supported the move to bring a mixed-use zone to the corridor, residents including Mark Colk and Ronald Tooley said they believe the plan does not take their concerns into consideration.

“I’ve been living in my home since 1979 and the plan presented here appears to try and squeeze those of us with old homes out,” Tooley said. “You aren’t kicking me out. It’s terrible what’s been done to West Street already and this will only make it worse.”

The plan presented through the Planning and Zoning Commission Tuesday, part of an ongoing effort that began nearly two years ago, is designed to create long-term zoning changes to help regulate development along the West Street corridor. The changes presented for a public hearing Tuesday call for the establishment of a West Street Business Zone along the corridor.

The zone is designed to promoted mixed-use commercial and residential development, as well as establish access management within the corridor, according to Mark DeVoe, director of planning and community development. The section the town is currently addressing runs along West Street stretching from West Pines Drive north to West Queen Street.

Various business owners came forward Tuesday in support of the measure, saying the corridor already has a four-lane road and would be an ideal place for a development of this type. Richard Krezel, writing to the commission on behalf of Joseph Klepacki, said he enthusiastically supports the zone change.

“The access management within sites preserves safety and restrictions in place prevent use improper use,” Klepacki said. “West Street is no longer conducive to residential uses.”

But existing residents such as Colk and Tooley, and property owners including Monica Cusano disagreed.

Cusano said the proposed plan would split her property in half, leaving part of the land as a residential zone while shifting the other half to be part of the mixed-use development. Under the regulations proposed, she would be unable to develop the land as residential only, she said.

Colk added that he is concerned that the efforts consider the business zone as a tax income for the town and do not consider the effect it will have on the residents involved.

“Have you thought about people or just thought about lining (the town’s) pockets?” he asked the commission. “We live here, we pay taxes here – we’re the ones paying the staff’s pay. You as group work for the town, who in turn is supposed to work for us. You don’t have any idea what people want.”

Members of the commission took offense to the accusations, noting that they have put considerable time and effort into development of a plan and have done so, many commissioners serving for years, with no stipend or pay whatsoever.

Commission Vice-Chairman Paul Chaplinski, chairman of the West Street Corridor Subcommittee, said the plan was developed with extensive thought and effort and drawn using recommendations from consultants with Milone & MacBroom in Cheshire.

“We are making best decisions for town of Southington,” Commission Chairman Michael DelSanto said. “I’ve been here 12 years and I make same amount today that made first year – and that’s zero.”

The commission on Tuesday voted unanimously to table to measure to weigh concerns. The public hearing was closed and barring any changes, the commission will vote on the measure at their upcoming meeting on Aug. 20.

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