Printer Friendly Version - Clinton’s Big Stories for 2017: CVS and Charter Change

A new CVS to be built—with a drive-through—at the intersection of Hull and Main Streets had many opponents, but the Planning & Zoning Commission adopted a settlement that overthrew its initial denial of the plan. Photo by Eric O’Connell/Harbor News

Two stories dominated Clinton headlines in 2017: the CVS proposed for the corner of Hull and Main streets and the remarkable roller-coaster ride of the proposed charter revisions.

In a unanimous decision, the Clinton Planning & Zoning Commission (PZC) voted on Feb. 13 to deny the application by Douglas Benoit for a new CVS on several lots located on the corner of Hull Street and Route One, citing traffic concerns.

However, in March it was revealed that in December 2016, seven members of the PZC held a private meeting, in apparent violation of the state’s Freedom of Information requirements, reportedly to discuss a change in leadership, which exposed the PZC to a lawsuit as the CVS application was still open at the time of the meeting. Arista Development, the developer of the CVS site, filed a lawsuit seeking the PZC denial of the application be declared null and void.

In July, the PZC voted to accept a settlement with the developers through which the original proposed CVS is scrapped in favor of a new design. The new design calls for a 13,000-plus-square-foot CVS, and a drive-through exiting on Johnson Street Extension.

PZC meetings concerning the CVS in 2017 were highly attended, with a majority of speakers at the public hearings voicing their objections to a new CVS.

Every few years, the town appoints a committee to review and suggest possible revisions to the town’s charter, the document the spells out how town government works. In 2017, the Charter revision Commission’s proposed a professional town manager position, which among other changes would assume some of the duties currently held by the first selectman. That proposal was voted down on July 5 by the Board of Selectmen, which chose to not send the proposal to a public vote. That move led to the formation of a coalition that successfully garnered enough signatures on a petition to force the town to allow the residents to vote on the proposed changes.

Initially, the Board of Selectmen declined to put the proposed changes on the November ballot, partly due to an oversight by the petition organizers that provided no date for the changes to go into effect is listed; under that situation, a “Yes” vote to the changes would mean the town would need to make that switch within 30 days of the vote. However, after the Sept. 12 primaries in which four of the five selectmen are defeated, Selectman Willie Fritz made a motion to include the proposed changes on the November ballot. The motion passed.

After trying to seek legal opinions on the matter and educate the public on the potential changes, the same coalition that encouraged voters to sign the petition began to ask voters to vote “No” at the polls in November. The three questions concerning the ballots were defeated on election day.

In December, new First Selectman Christine Goupil announced that a new Charter Revision Commission will be formed in January 2018 to once again take a look at any potential changes to the town charter.