Monroe's Zoning is Still in the '80's

Monroe has changed significantly over the past 30 years, with built up business corridors and housing booms. Now the town is trying to claw back from difficult economic times — along with the rest of the nation. Through it all, Monroe's zoning regulations and codes have largely remained the same.

Older definitions have become confusing. The document is not easy to navigate. And some regulations are simply outdated.

The Planning & Zoning Commission and town hall land use staff have been undertaking a massive effort of revising and updating Monroe's zoning regulations, along with the help of BFJ Planning, a consultant hired by the commission.

"We worked to be inclusive with two public workshops and posted information on the town website soon after," P&Z Commission Chairman Patrick O'Hara said. "Inclusion and transparency has been a top priority."

A public hearing on the current draft of the regulations was held in the Masuk High School auditorium Wednesday night. After hearing testimony, O'Hara left the hearing open to allow time for more written correspondence.

The commission closed the hearing at its regular meeting on Thursday night and deliberated on the regulations late into the night. No vote was expected.

On Wednesday night, First Selectman Steve Vavrek said he was happy for all of the P&Z commissioners' hard work and proud of the land use staff, Land Use Dir. Scott Schatzlein and Planning Administrator Will Agresta in particular.

"I'm looking forward to a great outcome," Vavrek said. "People wonder why, after all these years, we haven't developed along our borders like other towns. This will go a long way toward getting more development along our borders."

A series of articles will be written on different aspects of Wednesday's hearing, but this story will include some of the key changes being proposed.

Give Me an 'R'!

A stretch along Route 111, near the Trumbull town line, is zoned Limited Office or LO. However, due to a decline in office uses, much of the properties lay dormant.

Property owners have told the commission there is significant demand for retail and restaurant uses, so the P&Z is proposing to establish a new LOR District for Limited Office Retail.

An LOR District would allow retail uses, personal service uses and restaurant uses when applications meet local zoning requirements.

As-of-Right Uses

Currently the vast majority of "as-of-right" uses cover single-family residential zones. Therefore just about everything else requires a special exception permit and a lengthier approval process.

The commission proposes to allow more as-of-right uses in specific zones such as retail, office and restaurant without a drive-through etc.

Some uses would still be allowed in a zone if it meets specified conditions. For instance, a restaurant with a drive-through is a high traffic generator, according to a P&Z handout, so such a proposal would fall into that category.

There will be two tracks for approvals, according to the draft regulations — one just for a site plan (gaining a public hearing approximately 35 days from submission) and the other for special exception permits (going to a public hearing approximately 65 days from submission).

A hearing must be closed by the P&Z Commission within 35 days of opening and after it closes the commission has up to 65 days to render a decision.

Simplification

Frank Fish, principal of BFJ Planning, assured the audience of close to 30 people attending last Wednesday's hearing that, while some districts have been renamed, no properties would be rezoned.

Fish said much of the proposed changes are meant to reorganize and modernize the codes, adding whole sections were dated.

"We're trying to make the code more user-friendly," he said. "It's not about changing zones."

To that end, there is a simplified, shorter table of contents and related information is included in the same chapter.

In renaming districts, Fish gave an example, saying with Design Business, most people do not know what "design" means. Therefore, those districts would simply be Business districts. And Design Industrial, would just be Industrial.

There would also be tables for zones, breaking out information such as minimum lot area and maximum coverage.