The Urban Dilemma and other topics at Planning and Zoning - Nov. 12

Planning and zoning commissioners met Wednesday in Council Chambers to discuss the future of Middletown's residential downtown, to discuss the organization of the commission for the next year, and to review several land use proposals and a zoning text change.

Many residents of downtown came to speak about the proposed Plan of Conservation and Development, a document which will guide Middletown's land use decisions for a decade or more. Tonight's public hearing was on Chapter 8: Addressing the Urban Dilemma and Statement on Alternate Modes of Transportation. Residents spoke passionately about the joy of living within stroller distance of so many amenities, from Russell Library in their heart to MacDonough Elementary School at one end and Wesleyan at the other. Jennifer Alexander set the tone for all the comments when she urged the commissioners to change the name of the chapter from "Urban Dilemma" to "Urban Opportunity". All urged the commissioners to adopt language and policies that would celebrate and strengthen the vitality of Middletown's urban neighborhood.

The comments from these self-described "new urbanists" ranged from detailed suggestions for zoning and enforcement changes to more global policy changes. Ruth Veleta, in a letter read by Jennifer Saines, spoke of the effect on safety and the appearance of neighborhoods when cars and trucks are parked on the tree lawn (snow shelf) between the sidewalk and the house. Ed McKeon, another downtown dweller, requested enforcement of ordinances dealing with nuisance crimes like speeding, noise violations, parking on sidewalks. Ms. Saines spoke of the need to establish urban design guidelines and the need for civic buildings that foster a sense of community. Ms. Alexander spoke of the importance of finding the right balance between the number of owner occupied and and number of rental properties. For Ms. Alexander, it was not clear what the ideal balance would be, but she felt that the current ratio, which is less than 50% owner occupied, was far too low. She pointed out that renters are less likely to be invested in the quality of the school and other long term issues of the neighborhood. Both Mr. McKeon and Ms. Alexander decried the high number of properties that are devoted to social services such as alcohol and drug rehabilitation houses, half-way houses, and other group homes. They both stated that Middletown was home to vastly more of these than is warranted by our size. Mr. McKeon said that the current language in the POCD "got a bit mealy mouthed" regarding social services housing. Alexander concurred, "The city must take the strongest stand possible in limiting any future development of group homes within the traditional residential neighborhoods of downtown."

Transportation was also discussed, and again residents wanted a different title. Beth Emery suggested that the title be changed from "alternate modes of transportation" to "meeting the transportation needs of the citizens of Middletown". She urged the Commissioners to have both short term and long term goals for the city and the region, ranging from regulations on the number of bicycle racks required, to education of employers and businesses. John Elmore spoke philosophically about the role of Planning and Zoning Commissioners, "You can make a difference, you can require bike racks. Your job is to appeal to our better selves."

A Zoning Code text amendment was also the subject of a public hearing. Josh Eddinger applied to add the R15 zone to the list of zones that would allow year round farm markets (R15 allows residential lots of 15,000 square feet, about 3 houses per acre). This change would only apply to actively farmed parcels of 20 acres or more that are on a state highway in Middletown. Currently, the only property that meets these criteria is owned by Mr. Eddinger, on Randolph Road. Mr. Eddinger, who owns several farms in Middletown, and raises plants and bushes in greenhouses and in the ground, expressed his desire to open a year-round farm market. He pointed out that such markets make farming economically viable, and therefore preserve farmland, open space, and the rural character of our city. He also said that farms pay taxes on both land and structures, and do not use many city services such as education. However, several neighboring residents spoke in opposition to the amendment, expressing fears that a farm stand would be popular, and that it would be inappropriate near their houses. One of those neighboring residents, Sebastian Giuliano, who gave as his addresses both Maple Shade and DeKoven Drive, told the Commissioners that if they adopted this zoning code text amendment, it "would open the city to a lawsuit for spot zoning." The zoning code text amendment failed to pass, receiving only 4 Yes votes.

Also on the commissioners' agenda was the annual election of officers. Perhaps reflecting tension over this election, the commissioners began the meeting with a testy debate over the protocol for seating alternates on the commission. Commissioner Les Adams requested a change from the customary pattern of rotating the seating of the possible alternates, and instead requested that an alternate from the same political party as the missing regular member should be seated. Chairwoman Barbara Plum insisted that the normal protocol be followed. The commissioners agreed to disagree for the moment, and postponed the election of officers until the December 10th meeting.

Practical solutions for better development

Two weeks ago, Town Planner Bill Warner made a presentation to the city's Redevelopment Commission on his update of the town's Plan for Conservation and Development.

Commissioners were asked to comment and forward suggestions to Warner.

Commissioner Jennifer Saines Pinch took the task to heart and has created a document with dozens of practical ideas that could make the city, particularly the core city, better immediately.

Here is the body of the letter she forwarded to Warner. Citizens are encouraged to contact Warner with their own ideas, or to ask Warner to add some of these ideas to the plan of development:

I would rather we not consider
the deterioration of the downtown neighborhoods to be
the result of "social problems'. I would argue that
the social problems are a symptom, not a cause: the
downtown neighborhoods have social problems due in
large part to the city's failure to maintain and
enhance the infrastructure and amenities in the core.

Perhaps the most destructive force in the
deterioration of the downtown has been the relocation
of all but one (McDonough) of the schools to the
outlying neighborhoods, robbing the downtown
neighborhoods of their sense of community. Building a
large high school on the outskirts of town has
perpetuated this trend, and created a single point of
investment and educational capital. Without Stillman,
the Kindergarten and High School, the core
neighborhoods to the south of Washington have no
meeting centers. We have to think creatively in the
future about our educational resources. (For example,
the Polish National Home at the corner of High and
Warwick could be a school.) The huge expenditure on
a single school will hamper the city's ability to
upgrade other community and educational facilities.
At the very least, for the short term, Russell
Library's hours should be extended to facilitate
downtown group meetings.

Many of the following suggestions dovetail with the
mission of Transportation Alternatives, since
transportation has so much to do with the quality of
life in urban areas. The lack of courtesy shown to
pedestrians and bikers due to an entrenched
automobile-oriented transportation bureaucracy is a
major drawback to life in the downtown. Noise and
visual pollution, the proliferation of parking lots
and curb cuts, the deterioration of the tree lawns -
these all compound the aforementioned lack of
municipal investment in the downtown infrastructure
and amenities and further undercut the willingness of
parents and prospective homeowners to establish their
families within our neighborhoods.

The following initiatives, many of which overlap and
most of which are simply enforcement-oriented, would
go a long way toward mitigating the challenges faced
downtown residents:

--Tow cars that are parked across sidewalks.

--Enforce the right of pedestrians in crosswalks.
.
--Enforce speed limits. Ticket those that run lights.
Maybe it's time for cameras at key intersections?

--Install bike racks throughout the downtown.

-- Make it part of city policy to ensure that
sidewalks on state bridges are plowed in a timely
fashion..

--Reverse the trend of making tree lawn smaller: Tree
lawns have been made even smaller, not larger, after
storm sewer separation, to allow for excessively wide
asphalt streets. Not only does this decrease the
amount of protection the pedestrian has from traffic,
it also encourages excessive speeds and welcomes an
ever increasing number of parked cars in the downtown
area. Easy parking discourages the development of an
alternative transportation network. And, smaller
tree lawns make it harder for trees to catch the water
they need and develop their root systems, and to do
the work of shading the streets that would help to
keep the city cooler in the summertime. The sliver of
grass that constitutes the "tree lawn" on Saybrook
Road adjacent to the new emergency room is shameful.

--Restore tree lawns to streets like Church St. and
William St. to discourage speeding and to
differentiate the streetscape from the commercial.

--Provide Urban forestry with a meaningful budget
--tree replacement should be a minimum requirement.

--Encourage the police to respond more quickly and
professionally to downtown crime and public
disturbances and to be familiar with the downtown
geography.

--Replace unnecessary traffic lights with stop signs.
This is friendlier to pedestrians and cyclists, and
reduces the visual pollution of wires, stop lights and
boxes.

--Push back against the installation of the hideous
massive boxes attached to the base of telephone poles
that provide the next generation of cable
connectivity. Why is city property being debased in
this way, by a private company?

--Bury wires underground whenever a street is being
torn up.

--Smooth out streets (manholes, bumps etc.) to make
them more bicycle friendly and to reduce noise on
residential streets.

--Clamp down on noise pollution from car radios and
motorcycles-Code?

--Be vigilant about graffiti-erase it on a daily
basis.

--Disallow through truck traffic on residential
streets that have become connectors. This has been
done on Grand St. and should be implemented on High
St., Loveland, etc...

--Restore two way traffic to one way streets to slow
down traffic. Do not disallow parking on these
streets.

--Reduce the size of emergency vehicles so that road
radii can be reduced and more effective traffic
calming measures can be employed.

--Move against landlords and homeowners and businesses
and other institutions that use the tree lawn for
parking or for the storage of their garbage cans.

--Invest in McCarthy Park. It has been neglected for
years, while other parks have been undergoing upgrades
over many years. Is there a cost comparison
available of how much has been spent on various parks
over the years?

--Buy a small piece of property on Pameacha pond (when
the next gas station goes out of business) and create
a small access point for the public

--Restore Sumner Brook to increase core amenities and
outdoor activities in the downtown, and to create an
unobstructed connection to the river.

--Implement traffic calming across the city.
Differentiate commercial from residential by painting
yellow stripes on roads and curbs only in commercial
and industrial areas.

--Invest in downtown gateways:

 Saybrook Rd: Narrow it and beautify it
(sidewalks, tree lawns, reduced curb cuts etc). (Too
bad the hospital or the city did not consider it
worthwhile to create a beautiful tree lawn while the
new emergency room was under construction. )
 Install sidewalks on the south side of the
17 connector. The sidewalk on the north side should
not be used for parking, and should be constructed
with properly poured concrete (not asphalt, which is
currently the case).
 South Main has been unnecessarily widened in
parts, has too many curb cuts and needs a design code
to make it more cohesive.
 Newfield St, as it approaches 66, has been
excessively widened. One lane should be removed. The
sidewalk starting there is intimidating as it is
protected by an industrial guardrail, which should not
be part of downtown city furniture. It needs a tree
lawn to protect and soften it. Also, as a gateway to
Veteran's Park, it should be made appealing and
inviting.
 The block of 66 from Pearl to Main is a
hodgepodge of curb cuts and badly sighted trees. An
alley should go behind the block on the north side,
and an impressive line of shade trees should be
planted there. On the south side of the street, St.
Sebastian's Church has asphalted the tree lawn. This
should be replanted with grass and more trees.
 The approach from the Arrigoni should
welcome the newcomer with handsome signage and a well
maintained garden/trees within the median strip all
the way to Rapallo.

I think that the adaptation of the smart growth plan
for Middletown should begin now, or at least a code
of some kind that will ensure safe and aesthetic
development in the downtown core. Downtown residents
are very distracted by home repair, crime, vandalism
and noise pollution, so it is difficult to get to
every meeting to fight every cause. A solid, enforced
code will take many of these routine decisions off of
our plates, and save our energy for more productive
civic minded pursuits.