MONROE, CT — Town Line Plaza houses the Noble gas station and convenience store and Panera Café, and Aldi supermarket is currently under construction at the shopping center at 205 Monroe Turnpike.
The conceptual plan includes a 10,000-square-foot medical building in back of the property to complete the shopping center. Now the developer is ready to submit a detailed site plan for the final building — but with a significant change.
Rather than the medical building, Two Hundred Five Monroe Turnpike LLC wants to build a four-floor self storage facility that’s just over 100,000 square feet.
Matt Baldino, a professional engineer and assistant project manager with Solli Engineering LLC, a Monroe firm representing the applicant, asked the Inland Wetlands Commission to set a hearing date for a wetlands permit during Wednesday’s meeting.
A hearing has been set for March 13.
“The proposed modifications are primarily located within the previously approved limit of disturbance,” Baldino said in a letter to the Inland Wetlands Commission on Jan. 16. “The proposed modifications have been designed in accordance with the Town of Monroe Inland Wetlands and Zoning Regulations.”
“While the project involves work within the upland review area, no direct wetland impact is proposed,” he added.
Baldino said there is actually a net decrease of 0.2 acres of disturbance than there would have been with the conceptual plan for a medical building.
A portion of the warehouse would be in what would have been the parking lot for the medical building, still within the impervious area. Baldino said it would include similar screening from neighboring properties.
The retaining wall would be moved slightly closer to the wetlands, but development limits to the south would be the same.
The storage facility would have 21 parking spaces and other spaces could be shared with the grocery store. The developer is not requesting additional spaces over what was initially approved.
Chairman Keith Romano said he wants to see a plan that could be done without moving anything around, because the retaining wall was already close to the wetlands.
Baldino said the current plan uses less fill and though the retaining wall would be closer to the wetlands, there would be less of on impact on the other side of the development, so the overall impact would be less than before.
Planning and Zoning Administrator Kathleen Gallagher said the applicant will have to change some things around to accommodate the larger building.
The commission unanimously agreed to set a hearing date because of the public impact.
All respectful comments with the commenter’s first and last name are welcome.
A 100,000sf storage building (basically a warehouse with partitions) is not an appropriate use or compatible with the neighboring properties. An appropriate location would be the Pepper St. Industrial park. The scale and use of the originally approved 10,000sf building is in keeping with the area and could offer a variety of services to residents.
Absolutely not. A storage unit facility does not belong in that area. That is not something beneficial to the residents of Monroe and neighboring Newtown and Trumbull. What is needed is more restaurants and shopping facilities.