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01/07/2019 11:00 PMResidents of Deep River will have another chance to weigh in on the topic of floating zoning districts in town at the Thursday, Jan. 17 Planning & Zoning Commission’s public hearing, which will be held at 7 p.m. at Town Hall.
The hearing is a continuation from the commission’s Dec. 13, 2018 hearing at which many residents expressed strong concerns about the proposal.
Floating zoning differs from regular zoning in several ways. Under regular zoning practice, the owner of a parcel (and the neighbors of that parcel) knows what uses are allowed by right and what are prohibited in a given zone. With a floating zone, the town defines uses it would like to encourage and creates a zone that can be landed on other existing zones if the applicant meets the standards for the site set by the PZC.
In towns that have adopted floating zones, supporters have praised the improved ability to better attract businesses and the ability of the PZC to require designs that exceed the standards of existing regulations. Opponents of floating zones cite the uncertainty that neighboring properties face when a zone can be quickly changed; they also note that under floating zones, a handful of appointed officials on the PZC are granted greater power.
“If floating zones are approved in town, it will provide more transparency and more ability from the residents to comment and be involved in discussion about zoning and allowable usage of property, than our current zoning regulations do,” Deep River Zoning Enforcement Officer Cathie Jefferson said. “Floating districts are very restrictive and will be the most restrictive zoning districts in town if this all passes.”
According to Jefferson, floating districts are being proposed because residents have repeatedly expressed a desire for more oversight of local land usage and zoning regulations.
The current proposal is to include two main floating zone districts in town; the first is the R-80 Residential Floating District with permitted uses including landscape/nursery services and contractor’s business and storage yards. The second is CIP Commercial Floating district that allows storage of landscape and nursery equipment with less than two-ton capacity, screening of top soil and cutting firewood, but excluding brush and stump processing.
Procedures to amend the Zoning Regulations and the Zoning Map to permit floating zones includes a multi-step decision process and the proposed zone change must be consistent with the Plan of Conservation and Development.
If a property owner wishes to land a floating zone on a specific parcel for one of those two uses, he or she must go through a public hearing to get approval for the use first, then through an additional public hearing and approval process, which will require all the specifics of the use of the property, complete with detailed site plans and permits.
According to Jefferson, this proposal has been in the works in town since last January. She noted that floating zones are not new in Connecticut. Towns such as Guilford, Clinton, and Middletown have floating zones.
The proposed new regulations are available for viewing at the Town Hall and in the Town Clerk’s Office. At press time, they were not posted on the town website or available by email.
Jefferson encourages anyone who has specific questions to contact her.
“I am very happy to help explain floating zones. There have been several people who have already come to my office to discuss this and I am always happy to help,” said Jefferson.