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09/24/2018 12:00 AMThe Sept. 20 meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) ended in residents’ applause as the board voted unanimously to deny Cumberland Farms’ petition for a certificate of location for the sale of gasoline.
The site for the proposed gas station is located at 147 Washington Avenue, where a Cumberland Farms store once operated but which has been empty for some time. Had it been approved, the gas station may have had as many as 12 pumps and remained open 24/7.
According to the minutes from the Aug. 16 meeting at which the matter was first introduced, attorney Matthew Ranelli suggested that “the project will improve the site, which has been neglected over the years.”
“I think we all agree, [the site] is underutilized,” Renelli repeated at the September meeting.
The site is currently zoned for commercial use could be used as such by another future developer even without the ability to sell gas.
At the first meeting, residents raised questions regarding the safety of the gas station in proximity to nearby residencies as well as increased traffic volume they expected to see from the addition of a Cumberland Farms gas station.
At the Sept. 20 meeting, the applicants were given a chance to respond to the concerns of the ZBA, residents, and, especially, a letter submitted by Chief of Police Thomas McLoughlin regarding the difficulty of left turns into and out of the site.
Developer’s representative Colleen Medeiros said that the site would not be a “major traffic generator” as designated by the State of Connecticut based on their traffic study.
As part of their response to the chief of police’s safety concerns, the applicants offered an alternate site plan.
“We want to make it clear that this isn’t a done deal. There’s a lot more work to be done,” Medeiros said of the plan. “If we were to get approval tonight, we still would want to work with the [state Department of Transportation], town officials, and residents.”
Though Cumberland Farms doesn’t market its services to buses, the applicants also attempted to demonstrate to the ZBA that a bus could safely access the gas station.
The board disagreed with Medeiros’s suggestion that the gas station would not increase traffic in the area.
“[Cumberland Farms] is somewhat of a magnet,” Land Use Administrator Alan Fredrickson said. “To some extent, it’s something of a victim of its own success.”
Speaking in opposition to the development of the site, residents from nearby Monroe Street worried about the loss of property value to their homes in addition to the traffic and safety concerns addressed by the ZBA.
The ZBA’s decision to deny Cumberland Farms the ability to sell gas on the premises means that the lot will remain empty for the time being and will not host a gas station.