MEMBERS PRESENT: Mealy, McCann, Kennedy, Evans, Porter, Wentzell, Larson
ALTERNATES PRESENT: Manion arrived at 8:45
STAFF PRESENT: Marcia Banach, Director of Planning
SPECIAL MEETING
Meeting called to order at 7:35 p.m.
Chairman Mealy announced that Town Engineer Jerry Iazzetta has resigned his position at Town Hall and his last working day is May 30.
Chairman Mealy welcomed Town Plan consultants Val Ferro and Pat Heslin of TPA. He thanked them for their role in launching the series of public and board/commission meetings and noted that those meetings have been extremely beneficial to the Commission.
Ferro distributed a draft of the transportation discussion paper, Existing Transportation Conditions and Recommendations, prepared by subconsultants Fitzgerald & Halliday. Ferro requested that commissioners review and comment on the draft.
A question was raised about whether the newly released 2000 census data would be included in the Town Plan. Ferro responded that the very basic data that is now being released can be included but noted that the data being released at this time is very limited in scope. She suggested that the Town might benefit from conducting its own periodic demographic surveys, noting that the census data being used now is 1990 data since the 2000 detailed data has not been available yet.
Ferro asked Commissioners to talk about the results of the joint meetings that have been held with the other boards and commissions: what are some of the issues, where is there consensus, where is there conflict? Commissioners noted that they were pleasantly surprised with the work the Redevelopment Agency is doing on Buckland Road.
It was noted that the general public consensus seems to be that South Windsor’s land development pattern to date is acceptable, but there is concern that future development will be too intensive and will spoil the existing charm of South Windsor. Impervious coverage was raised as an issue. It was noted that the current pattern of impervious coverage appears acceptable, and Banach was requested to review industrial/commercial sites to try to determine what the “average” coverage appears to be. Wentzell suggested that the current impervious coverage regulations are focused more on intensity of development, not green appearance. A question was raised regarding how to integrate green space with the actual development, thereby avoiding situations where an unrelated area of property applies toward the
impervious coverage formula but in reality has no relationship to the actual area being developed (as with rear land, often wetlands). Ferro noted that a key ingredient in dealing with pervious coverage elements is to consider them from a developer’s perspective in order to select methods that are acceptable and appealing to both the Commission and the developers. Cost is always a factor.
Traffic is another area of concern. The traffic report depicts some of South Windsor’s two-lane roads with fairly high traffic volumes, thereby indicating that widening of these roads may be undertaken in the future. Widening is not necessarily a favorable option; what are alternatives? It was noted that the Gateway Zone addresses some of these issues well; perhaps we need to apply some similar zoning standards to the high-volume two-lane roads.
Format of the new Plan was discussed. Ferro suggested that rather than the traditional “goals by discipline” method (i.e., there are a series of subject areas such as Housing and Transportation, and each area has its own goals), a desirable format would be an “issue-related policies and actions” format (i.e., major issues such as preserving town character are identified, with guiding principles, implementation issues, context and action included to address each issue.
Housing diversity was discussed. It was noted that South Windsor has no apartment complexes, making it difficult for young people to live in South Windsor. It was also noted, however, that there are a large percentage of investment condominiums that are used as rental units.
Lack of pedestrian access, which makes it difficult for alternative modes of transportation such as bicycling and walking, needs to be addressed. It was suggested that multi-use trails might be appropriate in some areas where sidewalks are not practical.
Ferro suggested that commissioners review the existing goals in the current Town Plan and identify the ones that are very relevant so they can be translated into issue-related policies and actions.
Motion to adjourn was made by Kennedy (sitting for Mealy, who left at 9 p.m.) and seconded by Larsen. The vote was unanimous, and the meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Marcia Banach, Director of Planning
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