Standing Room Only as Taxpayers Pack Council Chambers Opposing Zoning Change

Council chambers was packed Wednesday evening as Middletown residents, joined by Wesleyan students, blasted a proposed change to the mixed-use commercial zoning code, in an hours-long meeting that dragged on until midnight. 

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Forty people voiced their opposition to the city's planning and zoning board against a proposal made by Middletown developer Robert Landino of Centerplan Companies to change the residential zoning code to allow commercial development on Washington Street.

Village District homeowner and Board of Education member Ed McKeon has ardently opposed the mixed-use zone change in a series of editorials and a Facebook page, No Strip Mall, No Wrecking Ball.

He, in fact, has filed a change to the city's Institutional Development code, which would block new commercial development around Wesleyan. It was to be considered Wednesday but overwhelming public comment pushed it to the March 13 P&Z meeting.

According to the Middletown Eye, the ID zone change, "would prevent most properties immediately adjacent to Wesleyan from being used for anything except residential in the future. It would also impact land immediately adjacent to Middlesex Hospital and Connecticut Valley Hospital."

McKeon said Thursday he was impressed at the attention commisioners gave to resident testimony Wednesday evening. "I was completely heartened being in that room with all my neighbors."

Resident and architect Catherine Johnson spoke at the hearing. "The meeting was so extraordinary: maybe one of the best gatherings of the public I have experienced in the past 10 years, maybe ever. People have such a sophisticated understanding of the issue. It's a shame we don't have a city department with a fraction of that support or understanding," she said.

"They made amazingly passionate, well-prepared statements about the negatives effects of an MX change," McKeon said. Wednesday, he read a prepared statement that likened the proposed zoning change to a "bomb blast."

"The current MX zone is in place in a few sections of the city to accommodate low-traffic, mixed-use development in neighborhoods that are largely residential," McKeon said. "The proposal spells a drastic change, transforming the zone from mostly residential to largely commercial.

"In fact, it’s such a drastic change, that it will damage the character and brand of Middletown, and completely alter adjacent residential neighborhoods."

The change, McKeon argued, will devalue neighboring properties next to property that can be developed for high-traffic retail and restaurants, increase traffic and pedestrian hazards, degrade air quality, and increase noise pollution, odors and  asphalt. 

Five supported the project, according to the Middletown Press, including Attorney Ralph Wilson, who represents Landino; Jeffrey Pugliese of the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce and former Mayor Sebastian N. Giuliano.

"The five who spoke for the proposal are people who will either profit by it or have some kind of vital connection to the cause," McKeon said.

Giuliano spoke to those gathered. "I can actually remember when Washington Street (Route 66), South Main Street (Route 17) and Newfield Street (Route 3) were all two-lane roads. Now they're all 4-lane major commercial thoroughfares, courtesy of the state of Connecticut. That fact, more than anything the P&Z Commission has ever done or will ever do, has impacted the use of properties along their length." 

The proposed text change to the zoning code does not add any uses that are not already permitted, Giuliano said. 

"We have to trust the commission we have elected to be able to tell the difference between a bad proposal and a good one. To reject a zoning regulation that gives more flexibility to deal with realities on the ground, for the reason that a developer may make an application for an undesirable use, is to posit that there is no conceivable 'good' use permissible under the proposed regulation. Such reasoning implies a degree of absolutism that is normally reserved for theological issues — not questions of land use regulation," he said.

McKeon said the current mayor's written remarks were difficult to hear.

"What was most disappointing was the letter penned by the mayor at the end, with his complete support." Mayor Dan Drew's letter was read by Planning Director Bill Warner.

The issue began last November, when a Wesleyan blog post, announcing the possible relocation of the campus bookstore to busy Route 66, prompted reaction from locals concerned about knocking down buildings in the city’s historic district.

Days later, Drew held a press conference saying the proposal would add $6 million to the city's economy and create 30 full-time jobs. He was joined by Landino, who described plans for a 20,000-square-foot, three-story building spanning from the Pearl Street intersection of Washington Street to High Street.

Wesleyan has since dropped out of the deal and Landino went ahead with a zoning code text amendment request.

Chamber of Commerce President Larry McHugh has several times voiced his support of the change in his weekly column. "Encouraging highly effective mixed-use development with multiple stories within Mixed-Use Zones is in the best interest of the City of Middletown and its economic development future," he said.

Meanwhile, McKeon is hopeful. "The people who came out are committed to continuing their opposition to it and we're hoping to see as large an audience at the next meeting for the deliberation," he said.

At midnight, the board tabled its vote until its next meeting, at which time deliberations will take place publicly. The next planning and zoning meeting is March 13 at 7 p.m. in city hall council chambers.

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