MONROE, CT — Neighbors of an auto repair shop at the corner of Main Street and Bart Road are already upset over ongoing zoning violations and now the owner wants to expand uses on his property by establishing a new Special Development District.
This would open the door to construction of a 21,000-square-foot commercial storage facility with 21 units for contractors behind Bart Center.
Brandon Leon-Gambetta, of Verna Road, said the auto repair shop is selling vehicles, when that is not permitted, and though there is a limit of seven vehicles awaiting repairs can be in the parking at any one time, he told the commission he counted 21 that evening.
Two of the cars had “for sale” signs with the same phone number as the repair shop, according to Leon-Gambetta.
Joan Verniero, a Verna Road resident of 20 years, called the auto repair shop an “eyesore.”
“It’s a visual nightmare,” she said. “It is an environmental nightmare. There are vehicles there that do not fit in the bays.”
If the applicants want to continue to use 604 Main St. as an auto repair shop, Planning and Zoning Administrator Kathleen Gallagher said they must comply with town zoning regulations in order to receive a letter of zoning compliance from the town, which is needed to put a shovel in the ground.
Doing so one week before is not going to be sufficient, she said, adding the applicant needs to do more to show the will to comply with town regulations.
Jason Montagno of Solli Engineering, the professional engineer for the applicant, 590 Main Monroe LLC, who presented the proposal to the Planning and Zoning Commission at a hearing on Jan. 16, said the The Marketplace Square project at 590, 600 and 604 Main Street will enhance the property.
The conceptual plan includes an improved front facade for the building at 590 Main St. with a stormwater treatment plan and Dark Sky compliant lighting with more LED fixtures.
Approximately 35 residents attending the hearing, in-person and online, expressed their strong opposition to the proposed amendment and conceptual plan. After the hearing, Montagno asked for a continuation to allow time to respond to people’s concerns and make the proposal more compliant.
The hearing was continued to Thursday, Feb. 6, inside the Council Chamber of Monroe Town Hall at 7 p.m.
Storage for contractors
Montagno said the 21 bays would be leased a variety of contractors such as electricians and plumbers, who would come in the morning pick up and drop off supplies, load their vans and go out to their job sites. He said they could come back to drop off materials at night.
Montagno said the conceptual plan would close off some curb cuts along Main Street for safer vehicular circulation, and include some striping for parking spaces, while enhancing the flow of traffic in the shopping center with added curbing and directional arrows.
The 4.74-acre site in a Business District 1 zone with a portion of it in an RF-1 (residential/farming district).
“One reason we want to enhance this property is it doesn’t really have any stormwater quality control,” Montagno said. “The runoff will actually sheet flow over the land all the way to the grass area in the back. There’s really no curbing to stop it.”
He said they realize the new storage building would be close to the wetlands, so they want to fix that problem.
Montagno said they want to add curbing and install catch basins, as well as hydrodynamic separators to collect stormwater runoff, treat it and funnel it into an underground system with more treatment before it reaches the wetlands.
He said his client would add 80 percent native species, try to preserve the treeline as much as possible, and plant more grass and shrubs to block out Dumpster areas proposed for the site.
Aquarion Water Co. opposes the application, because the site is within the West Pequonnock watershed, which is part of the public water supply. The company expressed concern over the increased risk of contaminants and runoff into the nearby watercourse.
The Monroe Conservation and Water Resources Commission opposes the amendment for similar reasons.
The Monroe Public Works Department does not recommend a reduction in the property’s setback from 50 to 25 feet, because it is not characteristic of the area, as well as the proposed reduction of the rear property line from 20 to 10 feet.
DPW found, “the majority of the rear of this property is wetlands, reducing this number provides no benefit to this property and could only potentially increase the environmental impact.”
Commissioners’ concerns
Dominic Smeraglino III, a commission alternate, asked for more landscaping to screen the property from its residential neighbors.
Domenic Paniccia, another commission alternate, asked about enforcement and how to control what is stored in the units. Montagno said what can be stored is defined in the regulations for the SDD.
The town’s zoning enforcement officers can respond to complaints and the fire marshal can also do inspections if there are any concerns over something being stored in violation of the fire code.
Leon Ambrosey, a commissioner, said the commission had expressed a desire not to create any more SDD zones, because members wanted to see how things go with the first six that were approved.
“I’m not in favor of changing the zone,” he said.
Ambrosey pointed out that auto sales is mentioned as a use in the proposal, adding it is not allowed at 604 Main St.
Gallagher said she and town land use staff do not recommend that auto sales be approved as a use.
Town staff is also opposed to including auto repair as a use in the application, because that is currently a grandfathered use, so if it is ever replaced with a different use, it would no longer be permitted.
“We all agree it is not an appropriate location for auto repair,” Gallagher said of 604 Main St.
“Where did a commercial vehicle facility come from?” Ambrosey asked of another use. “We don’t have a regulation for that.”
“We plan on removing that,” Montagno said.
Vice Chairman Bruno Maini said contractor storage is “an absolute need in town.”
“Here’s where I’m torn,” he said. “You’re so close to wetlands. I have a really hard time.”
Maini asked if a painter could lease a storage unit, then wondered what would happen if a paint can were to explode. “Is it all self contained?” he asked.
Montagno said they would clean it up as much as possible, while containing the spill as much as they can.
Maini said that’s not good enough when the property is so close to wetlands. “I also have a hard time when you have an infraction on the property and you’re going to continue to add to the property,” he said.
Maini said the enhancements to the building at 590 Main St. are “beautiful” and he is not 100 percent against the zone change, but he wants these issues to be resolved.
Nicole Lupo, a commission alternate, said she was having a hard time with the existing violations on the property.
“The town has taken many steps to remedy this problem,” she said. “I really struggle to continue to support this piece of property, until I see some working with the town and improving these things.”
Lupo agreed that contractor storage is a need in town, but noted how close this property is to the wetlands. She said an industrial park like the one on Pepper Street would be a less intrusive location.
She also expressed her doubts that contractors would only come to their units in the morning and at night. Lupo expressed concerns about noise and asked if they would do work inside their units at night or during the day.
Lupo wanted to ensure the public knows that, if the commission were to approve this amendment to establish an SDD, a detailed plan for the storage facility would have to come forward as a separate application, so an approval of the zone change is not necessarily an approval of the new building.
Lupo asked for a drawing showing how the property would look from the neighbors’ vantage point.
Maini asked about soundproofing for the units, because a contractor would inevitably want to “run a drill” inside his unit at night to get ahead for the next day. He also said sprayed insulation would help reduce rattling of a metal building when it’s windy.
Chairman Michael O’Reilly agreed the application is for a needed use, but said this is not the best location for it. He also mentioned the Aquarion letter, noting how it is the first time in his 10 years on the commission that the water company “used this kind of language against a proposal.”
Montagno reminded the commission that the stormwater would be treated before entering the stream in the back.
“So without this application, we won’t do anything when we know there’s an issue?” Maini said of current drainage problems. “That is not good.”
Gallagher said town staff asks that the entire site be reviewed for ADA compliance.
Neighborhood opposition
Neighboring residents who spoke during the public comments portion of the hearing called Main Street (Route 25) a “traffic nightmare” and contend a zone change and storage facility will only make it worse.
There is also concern over the new building being 25 feet away from the wetlands, due to the potential for runoff to pollute public drinking water.
Residents expressed concerns over a drop in their property values, noise and air pollution, poor sight lines, and the potential impact of drainage on residential septic systems and wells. Some worried about a potential increase in criminal activity.
William Florin, of Verna Road, said his family has lived in the neighborhood for 20 years, loves Monroe and enjoys frequenting the businesses at Bart Center.
“Frankly, I consider this to be a misguided project when we’re trying to just jam in an additional building to make additional money to the benefit of the property owner, and the detriment of the people around that property,” Florin said.
He reminded the commission how Monroe does not have a noise ordinance.
Every Tuesday morning between 3:30 and 4 a.m., Florin said a garbage truck picks up the Dumpster behind the shopping center with a loud boom that wakes his family up from a sound sleep, even when their windows are closed in the wintertime.
Now, he said a new storage facility operating seven days a week would bring noise from employees, trucks and equipment at 6 and 7 in the morning.
Florin asked where all of the work vans would be, because the rendering of the plan did not show that.
Other residents complained about littering and existing Dumpsters overflowing.
Leon-Gambetta noted how the property is not ADA complaint nor Dark Sky compliant. He wondered how the town could expect the applicant to be more trustworthy with an expanded use there.
“That takes gall,” he said. “‘I’m in violation here, here, here and here — and that’s why you should let me make more money.'”
One man complained that residents have been calling town officials about violations for over five months, and have been told the information will be relayed to the zoning enforcement officer — then nothing ever happens.
Wallace Thomas, of Wheeler Road, asked who the contractors using the storage units will be. He said landscapers like to test their equipment and pest control companies could bring toxins. “I don’t know what the actual plan is here,” he said. “There are too many open questions.”
It was also pointed out how Montagno said there was currently an “auto body shop,” when that type of business is not permitted there.
One resident said an emergency egress in the rear of the building is needed, and noted how curbing often gets destroyed when snow is plowed, so stormwater runoff would continue right into the wetlands.
“I appreciate you all coming out on this cold winter’s night, when you could be warm in your homes,” O’Reilly said after members of the public spoke. “And I did learn some things from you.”
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