Residents Passionate as Opinions Split on West Street Development Plans

The following was submitted by Paul Chaplinsky, member of the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission and chairman of the West Street subcommittee.

The West Street subcommittee of the Planning and Zoning Commission held its first public input session on Thursday, March 29. Many from the public attended to provide their perspective on the September 2011 as commissioned for this subcommittee by Milone & MacBroom. 

The charge of this subcommittee is to build upon previous work and offer further recommendations for fostering the economic development while protecting the quality of life and design as well as minimizing the traffic impacts along the West Street corridor. 

At the March 29 session, the subcommittee heard valuable feedback concerning the proposed rezoning of the various parcels identified within the corridor, according to the Analysis. Suggestions regarding traffic and access management, parking lot designs, safety considerations and work force housing were discussed. 

Residents and experts provided their opinions with respect to the proposed industrial zones to the west and south of the Target building as well as the two proposed Mixed Use Transition (MUT) Zones, which are on the east and west sided of West Street near Churchill Road, encompassing West Pines Drive and Spring Street. 

The MUT Zone discussions were passionate and varied. They ranged from supporting some portions of the proposed new zones to suggesting alternative “more appropriate” locations to not at all supporting the MUT Zones.  Those more appropriate locations of the MUT Zones were suggested to be the north end of West Street.

All of the information gathered from the public input session is extremely valuable. The subcommittee is looking forward to the next public input session at which time they look forward to hearing the public’s opinions for their view of the long-term vision of the future development of northwest corridor of Southington. 

Of particular interest to the subcommittee are the public views of the MUT Zones, as well as the proposals of new zones as stated in the Analysis by Milone and MacBroom.  Of additional interest, the subcommittee would like to hear from the public specific ideas involving the long-term (20+ year) design considerations that individuals may have for this corridor. 

Included in this proposal are road designs, building designs/locations and any other aspects the public feels will be important to creating a West Street corridor of which the entire town of Southington can be proud.

Following the public input sessions, the subcommittee will reconvene to review the information garnered in the study and the public input sessions and formulate a recommendation to the Planning and Zoning commission (PZC) for consideration. The Planning and Zoning Commission has the final decision for the West Street corridor vision. Additional public hearings will be required as part of the Planning and Zoning Commission’s process, should zoning changes be desired.

The Southington West Street Sub-committee will hold its final public input session Thursday, April 12, at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers at .

Please be a proactive member of our wonderful Southington community, wherever your residence in Southington may be and help provide input for the future of West Street towards the creation of a positive vision for the future.

Questions may be directed to Paul Chaplinsky (Sub-committee Chair) at pchaplinsky@southinton.org or Mary Savage-Dunham (Southington Town Planner at savagem@southington.org.

People interested in reviewing the West Street Corridor Zoning Analysis can find a copy on the Town of Southington website under Planning & Zoning or by using the following web address: http://www.southington.org/filestorage/50/2426/82/West_St_Study_2011_Malone_and_MacBroom.pdf