|
Norwich — The 2002 city Plan of Conservation and Development did not contemplate a
controversial proposal to bring commercial development to the Washington Street area, but it did
anticipate the need for additional commercial development in the city.
The Commission on the City Plan Tuesday
reviewed a five-year progress report on the 2002 plan, which included a grading system on how well the city has accomplished
goals set five years ago.
Commission members touched on numerous issues
during a two-hour discussion, including open space, transportation and the unfulfilled desire to remove the sprawling scrap
metal yard from the banks of Norwich Harbor.
But the new controversial proposed zone
change on Washington Street across from The William W. Backus Hospital filtered into much of the discussion.
Commission members noted several times that the plan of development did not propose that Washington Street be converted into commercial development. They noted that several references in the progress report by staff —
written in September — noted the need to “identify areas of the city that are sensitive to development”
and those where roads would have to be improved.
Commission member Francois “Pete”
Desaulniers said the recent zone change proposals have been spurred by “outside entities,” and not from city planners.
He said the commission made significant zoning change proposals in the plan, and cleaned up zoning text regulations.
Desaulniers said the 10-year plan is supposed
to give residents an idea of where the city is headed, whether their neighborhoods are targeted for change or should remain
essentially the same.
“People should have a sense of what
might happen in their areas,” said Desaulniers, a candidate for City Council. “That's a significant change.”
In Norwich, the City
Council serves as the zoning board, but the proposed ordinance — to be introduced at Monday's council meeting for a
future public hearing date. But the planning commission must give its recommendation to the council before aldermen vote on
the measure.
Although the proposed zone change is not
addressed in the plan of development, it did address the growing traffic congestion in the area.
One goal not yet met called for city officials
to hold public meetings to discuss improvements to the Washington Street area between the
Route 2 Expressway intersection and the fork at Broadway. Commission member Les King said it would have been easier to discuss
the road improvement needs before the new controversy.
Several residents of the Washington Street area and a similar controversial proposed zone change on Route 2 — rejected by the City Council last week —
attended the planning commission meeting Tuesday. Marterese and Gary Ferrari, opposition leaders in the Washington Street neighborhood, said they were encouraged by commission members' comments and by the plan itself.
“We will be paying attention to the
revisions being made here,” Marterese Ferrari said. “Clearly, what they're trying to do on Washington Street doesn't meet any of this plan.”
On the overall plan, city staff estimated
that the commission, the City Council, Norwich Public Utilities and other city entities have achieved about 65 percent of
the broad-ranging goals set in the 2002 report. About 72 percent of the top priority goals have been achieved.
But commission members Tuesday expressed
frustration that the plan was not being used as intended to project and plan for future development rather than react to it. | 