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03/21/2024 06:04 PMESSEX
A text amendment to carve out an area in Essex to encourage greater development in the Bokum area was scrutinized by residents at the Planning and Zoning Commission’s (PZC) meeting on March 5.
At the meeting, the PZC presented its application for a text amendment that would establish the “Bokum Corner Development District.” According to its language, the general intent of the node at Bokum is “to encourage and increase an appropriate, well-designed activity in the Bokum Corner area…to encourage new development and redevelopment on underused properties” and “to encourage a higher-density, flexible, and vibrant mix of uses” that will “respect residential character and traffic flow” and “historic uses in proximate neighborhoods.”
Land use official Carey Duques said the text amendment does not amount to a zone change and is a culmination of “several years” of research by the commission.
John Guszkowski, the planning consultant for Essex, said that the node is one of the areas “very clearly delineated” in the current Plan of Conservation and Development as ripe for new development.
The borders of the district are positioned from its southeast corner in the Ingham Hill Road area and northerly to Industrial Park Road. Route 153 runs directly in the center of the node, as the intention is to support a wide variety of uses, according to the amendment.
Guszkowski further explained that the creation of the district would empower the PZC to consider a “uniformed development approach” that “grants unbelievable latitude for the commission to review, reject, change, or approve a proposal ” for development or redevelopment depending on whether or not it is “in the best interest of the town.”
The area encompassed by this proposed node has already seen a major development introduced this year with the arrival of DG Market at 125 Bokum Road, replacing the long-shuttered Colonial Market as the only supermarket in Essex.
The commission’s proposal was met with strong criticism and concern from members of the audience of citizens.
Greg Ellis said the Bokum area sits atop an aquifer and has experienced sanitation issues due to a thick layer of clay running through many of its properties that could be worsened with greater development.
“The cart is before the horse on this proposal without the town doing an engineering or a hydrology study of the area, particularly with concerns about water…and the ability of a higher density [to] be able to handle sanitation in the areas you are proposing the text change,” said Ellis.
Guszkowski responded to Ellis by saying that “it absolutely assumed” that an applicant would provide in their development proposal, such as through special permit, engineering, and environmental analyses that would need to conform to public health, safety, and welfare.
Robert Vitari assailed the PZC for inviting “zero heads-up or involvement of the property owners and neighbors to suddenly be affected” by the proposed node and also expressed concerns about public health and safety. Vitari labeled the amendment an “unconstitutional power grab” for out-of-town developers seeking profits “at the expense of all others.”
“If there is ever to be a zone change, it is to be fair and equitable to all landowners with regard to traffic, water use and discharge, as well as opportunity—not one property for one lucky owner to supersize and maximize their profits at the expense of all others,” said Vitari.
Alan Field stated that the amendment should be brought to referendum to approve for what he viewed as a wide-ranging proposal that could bring higher density to the district.
The PZC will hold another public hearing on the text amendment at its meeting on Tuesday, April 2.