Village District Proposal Denied in Clinton Center
Citing a lack of communication between the homeowners and the applicants the Planning & Zoning Commission (PZC) voted to deny an application over a proposed village district on John Street and High Street at a meeting on Feb. 11.
The PZC had originally opened a public hearing over the application in December 2019, and then held two continuations of the hearing in January and February 2020. At all three meetings, the vast majority of the speakers were vehemently opposed to the application. At a regular PZC meeting on Feb. 11, the commission unanimously voted to deny the application, with one abstention.
The applicant was the Historic District Commission (HDC), which is a town agency that works to promote and protect historic areas in Clinton. HDC Chair Larry Ouellette had argued that the proposed district would not change any of the currently permitted uses, parking regulations, or dimensions of the homes the zone, nor would there be any additional taxes on the property. What would change is that any visible changes to the exterior of a property in the district would need to be looked over by the town’s Design Review Board.
However, people opposed to the application spoke of a fear that a village district would limit the amount of control they had over any future changes to their property, confusion as to where the boundaries of the district would fall, and a feeling that the town was suddenly springing this idea on the residents in the area when the majority of them had not asked for the district. Twenty-three people who reside in the area signed a petition against the proposal; that petition was submitted to the PZC on Feb. 3.
At the regular PZC meeting on Feb 11, the commission members primarily cited the lack of communication between the applicants and the residents as a reason the member were against the proposal.
“Though well intentioned, I think your process was flawed,” said PZC member Walter Clark.
“There’s too much confusion on this board and in the public,” said commission member Alan Kravitz.
Ouellette said earlier in the year that the application actually has roots dating back to 2014 when the town did a study on the best way to develop and preserve the former Unilever property and the surrounding area that includes High Street and John Street. After the study was done, Ouellette said that the PZC asked the HDC develop regulations to assist with the preservation of the area, which eventually led to the application for the village district. Ouellette said that the HDC had sent out mail to everyone in the proposed district alerting them to the application, though some residents at the public hearing said they never received a letter and others said it was the first they heard of the issue.
The PZC members did agree that the goals the HDC was trying to achieve with the district were smart, particularly when it came to preserving the neighborhood character. Kravitz said that with the impending developments at the Unilever property protecting John Street, which is a one-way road that empties into the Unilever property, would be something of which people will need to be cognizant in the future.
HDC Vice-chair Peggy Adler said the HDC has no plans at this time to revise or resubmit the village district proposal and that she respected the wishes of the residents who opposed the proposal.