MONROE, CT — A new 19,336-square-foot self storage facility will be built behind the Noble gas station in Town Line Plaza, 205 Monroe Turnpike. The lot previously had preliminary approval for a 10,000-square-foot medical office building, so the modification was needed to change the use.
The Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved the amendment modification with conditions Thursday night, paving the way for the project.
The building will complete the plan for Town Line Plaza, which has the gas station and convenience store, Panera Bread and Aldi supermarket, which is under construction.
Commissioners and land use staff agreed that the applicant, Two Hundred Five Monroe Turnpike LLC, addressed all of their concerns during the hearing process.
“I really like what you guys did with the building,” Vice Chairman Bruno Maini said. “That’s well done.”
Among the changes, Frank Weber of GMA, the architect for the project updated the rendering with color changes for the facility so it blends in with the surrounding buildings. He also added architectural touches to make it look less like a box.
“The project doesn’t lend itself to windows,” he said. “We tried to use it where we can.”
Weber said mechanicals located on the roof of the building will not be visible.
Luke Mauro, an engineer with Solli Engineering, which represented the applicant, said the building will have two bathrooms within the office space on the first floor, one for staff and the other for the public.
The hours will be from 6 a.m to 10 p.m., seven days a week and the building will be staffed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mauro said the storage facility will have security cameras, adding none will be aimed at adjacent properties.
The applicant revised its landscaping plan, which will include evergreen plantings on the north side of building. In response to a neighbor’s request, Mauro said arborvitae were added to provide more screening of the building.
Cathy Lindstrom, a resident who serves on the Architectural Review Board in town, wrote a letter to the commission urging denial of the plan, which Planning and Zoning Administrator Kathleen Gallagher read aloud during the meeting.
Among Lindstrom’s objections, she said the large storage building cannot be repurposed for different uses should the business fail and expressed her believe it would be best suited for an industrial zone.
Mauro said the facility would be build in a planned development district, allowing the size of the building and the use.
“It’s more a commercial than an industrial type of use in my mind,” he said. “I believe the commission determined a storage use is appropriate. There’s demand. That’s why we came for the regulation amendment to allow it and this application.”
Chairman Michael O’Reilly, Maini and commissioners Ryan Condon, Robert Westlund and Leon Ambrosey all voted in favor of the application.
Gallagher reminded the commission of a previous approval of a self storage facility in town, which required a list of items allowed to be stored there. That list was made a condition of Thursday’s approval.
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