Church Is Granted Fee Waiver

The Common Council last night approved the request from Shiloh Christian Church for a waiving of $22,817 in city building permit fees. According to Ron Klattenberg, this was the first waiver of building permit fees, other than those recommended by the Economic Development Committee, since the Council voted in 2004 to enact a no-waiver policy.

Mayor Giuliano and several councilmen each said that the no-waiver policy was in the form of a resolution, and that resolutions are not binding to the council, especially in a new council session.

Klattenberg ultimately abstained from voting, because he felt that the city should have a policy on fee-waivers, before it approved one. Eric King, chair of the church's building committee, said that without the building permit fee waiver, the church would be unable to commence construction before winter.

This was enough to persuade the Council that they should act immediately. Most of the Council spoke of the troubled recent history that the church has had, since it sold its previous church. They also spoke of the economic benefits to the community of a large construction job.

The waiver was passed with only David Bauer voting against it.

Church Requests $22,817 Building Permit Waiver

The Shiloh Christian Church has requested from Public Works a waiver of the building permit fees on their $1.5M new church, to be built at the corner of Saybrook Road and Coe Avenue.

The church sold their former building, on East Main Street, to a developer who built the new Walgreens Drug Store. With $2M from the developer, the church plans to build a 10,000 square foot building.

At Wednesday's Finance and Government Operations Commission meeting, Chairman Ron Klattenberg explained that the proposal had come before the Public Works Commission, which had declined to forward it to Council for consideration. He explained that he could not support the waiver of fees, "Permit fees are always part of the construction costs." He also said that the Council had recently made a change in policy, to eliminate the waiver of fees.

Joe Bibisi raised the issue of fairness, pointing out that several years ago the church on Cross Street received a waiver of building permit fees. Another Commissioner responded that even the show-mobile fees were no longer being waived for any non-profits.

Phil Pessina joined Bibisi and Hope Kasper in calling for the full Council to hear the fee waiver request by the Shiloh Christian Church.

The Council will consider this at their Monday meeting.

Shiloh Christian Church in South Farms

Middletown is fortunate to have a wealth of distinctive architecture, much of which was constructed in the nineteenth century. One building of note, currently occupied by Shiloh Christian Church, is slated for demolition or removal. The congregation wishes to relocate to a larger lot further south along Saybrook Road. Previous stories in the Eye have focused on the deliberations in the P&Z commission and on the siting, parking lot, and drive-thru of the proposed Walgreens.

Some of the stories in the Eye have made mention of the aesthetic appeal of the church building. What follows elaborates on this, and also includes a note about the historic significance of the building. Middletown looks to be on the verge of losing this structure, as it has lost many others. It seems appropriate, at the very least, to reflect on what it is we are losing.

From A Survey of Historical and Architectural Resources conducted by the Greater Middletown Preservation Trust (Middletown: GMPT, 1979):

Section 18. Historical or Architectural Importance: This building, consecrated in 1869, is the oldest church in the South Farms district of Middletown. It originally was Christ Episcopal Church, a branch of the Church of the Holy Trinity located on Main Street. The Heritage Congregational Church, the present owner [remember, this was written in 1979], obtained the property in 1965.

The structure is a good example of "carpenter Gothic." Steep roof lines and a distinctive bell tower characterize the building. The roof also displays gabled dormers, and a small chimney pot stands in front of the belfry. Beneath the tower, a small ell provides entrance to the nave. Like the small stained glass windows that illuminate the nave, the portal is Gothic-arched. It encloses the entranceway which includes tracery above the door. The church is decorated by stick-work, characteristic of this style.

Heritage Congregational Church, an important South Farms landmark, is reminiscent of an era when modest wooden churches were erected in the outlying city districts. Its distinctive, well-preserved appearance and conspicuous placement make it a visual asset to the neighborhood which has undergone significant transformation in recent years.

Also worth quoting is section 17, "other notable features". These are:

Stick-style belfry crowned by ornamental lightning rods

Severely pitched roof is supported by unusual wood braces

Finally, it should be noted that this description predates the modest wing that was added to the church in the 1990s.

The website for the current church congregation has a nice photograph of the building.

What's the prescription for an asphalt addiction?

Comment

By Jennifer Saines

The enthusiasm for “change” that permeated the airwaves of our country for the past year has not, unfortunately, been incorporated into politics at the town level. At Wednesday night’s P&Z meeting, the commissioners (save one), the Walgreen’s developer, and the members of the Shiloh Christian Church clung to the worn-out mentality of convenience at any cost and the sanctity of asphalt. Pedestrian and cyclist safety and amenities and long term health issues seem trivial obstacles to a streamlined automobile-dependent universe. Never mind that an iconic 140 year-old church at a prominent Middletown gateway will be demolished to make way for the architectural under-achievement that is a Walgreens, surrounded by 65 parking spaces.


The soon-to-be demol-ished church







I hope that the number “65” has raised at least a few eyebrows. Even a generous allowance of fifteen spaces for employees leaves a whopping 50 spaces for customers. When was the last time you encountered 49 other people in a pharmacy? Ironically, this is a drive-thru pharmacy, which should theoretically decrease the need for fixed parking spaces. Commissioner Phipps is to be commended for questioning the need for so many parking spaces and so much asphalt. The developer’s response that the number was simply required by Walgreens was unconvincing, since the company had already reduced that “requirement” to approach the city’s recommendation of 50. The developer then quickly volunteered to construct ten of the spaces of pervious material if that would please the commission, although because it would be expensive he could not do more than that. (Has anyone has ever seen the parking lot of the Walgreens on 66 even near capacity? I have since been informed that Walgreens and other big-box type chains want to create a public perception of ample parking.)

The fact that the Walgreens was applying for a “special exception” for a drive-thru seemed secondary to the proceedings. The plans were presented, incorporating the design of the drive-thru, as if the special exception had already been approved. I found this confusing, and wondered why so much work had been done by the developer in advance of P&Z approval. When this question was raised, the developer quickly and definitively stated that drug stores without a drive-thru are simply not built in Connecticut any more, and the developer would withdraw the application if the special exception were denied.

One commissioner seemed especially delighted that a drive-thru in a nearby bank was saving him so much time, and a member of the church assumed that everyone uses the drive-thru at McDonalds, so why not a drive-thru pharmacy? Despite my opposition to a drive-thru, Commissioner Borrelli’s argument that the satellite bank saved him a trip into town certainly did seem to make sense. We are a big city, area wise, and could use small neighborhood centers for basic necessities such as banking and wine, groceries, drugs, and a movie. This is consistent with Commissioner Johnson’s comments before the final vote (which were nearly stifled by a fellow commissioner) that Middletown develop small neighborhood centers to serve small communities within the city.

This area has the potential to be a community center with a distinct identity and a variety of shopping destinations. Unfortunately, the development thus far has been wanting. The existing stores are fronted by a sea of parking and separated from the proposed Walgreens by an ocean of asphalt sometimes five lanes wide. Commercial buildings should abut the sidewalk, face the street, and connect to others by sidewalks. This very traditional yet proven configuration welcomes the shopper, encourages movement, and puts life on the street. The re-siting of the Walgreens in such a way would be a first step in linking the various establishments of that center.


Five lanes for your auto-motive pleasure







As a community we should urge the Planning and Zoning commission to put a cap on parking lot size. We should also push for a reform of street design. The long-standing practice of widening streets and building additional lanes for the sake of “traffic flow” has compromised the general health of the community, discriminated against the pedestrian and the cyclist, and diminished the environmental, cultural and aesthetic appeal of our city. If it is too late to save the church, the achievement of these goals would at least help to offset this loss.

Planning and Zoning: "No" to sober, "Yes" to drug drive thru, and still no chair

Planning and zoning denied a special exception to a residential recovery house for patients recovering from drug and alcohol addiction, and approved plans for a drug store with a drive-thru window, in a meeting that began on Wednesday evening and ended early Thursday morning. They also approved applications by Middletown Water and Sewer department, a subdivision of the Home Depot Plaza, and a proposal from the Conservation Commission. And in the news that isn't news department, they failed to elect a chair.

Sober House
Wendi Clark was before the Commissioners with a proposal for a special exception to allow up to 9 unrelated individuals to live as a family in a two family home at the corner of Loveland and S. Main Street (Eye story). She was represented by a very articulate attorney, Greg Kirschner, who works for the CT Fair Housing Center, based in Hartford. Kirschner presented the legal background that he argued made it impossible for the Commissioners to deny Clark a special exception. Geen Thazhampallath, interim deputy attorney for the City, also gave legal opinions.

Kirschner and Thazampallath both agreed that the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibit discrimination in housing on the basis of disabilities, and both agreed that addiction constituted a disability. Both agreed that special accommodations for the disabled were appropriate. They disagreed, however, on whether those accommodations of necessity included the right to living in a group home in a Mixed Use (MX) zone in which both businesses and residences co-existed. Kirschner argued that the Commissioners had absolutely no basis for denying a group of addicts the right to live in this house if they would not deny a traditional family that same right. Thazampallath countered that the Commissioners did have the right to uphold zoning regulations.

Many members of the public weighed in on this application, mostly in opposition. Ralph Wilson, an attorney who has represented many clients at Planning and Zoning hearings (including later this evening the Drive-thru Drug Store), has his offices immediately adjacent to the proposed Sober house. He spoke passionately about the effect of the Sober House residents' cars on access to his property. He was outraged at what Kirschner had told the commissioners, "I'm mad, and this is why I'm mad: This is a bunch of hogwash this guy's giving you." He urged the commissioners to deny the application and offered his services to the city if there was a lawsuit.

Common Council member Earle Roberts spoke about the importance of maintaining a definition of a family that was just like the one he grew up in. Mayor Sebastian Giuliano, who said that he had previously represented Wendi Clark, argued forcefully against the sober house, saying that this was not a situation of a group of disabled people pooling their money to rent a house in the same way that a family would, this was a situation of a landlord making a lot of money renting out individual rooms or beds to people who may or may not stay for very long, "This is a rooming house, masquerading as a sober house."

Edward Madison, former member of the New Haven Planning Commission and overseer of a network of sober houses, spoke to the Commissioners of the importance of resolving sober house issues administratively, not through planning commisions. He said this was the best way to reach a decision that was not unduly influenced by the political pressure that a public hearing includes. He said that litigation could be extremely expensive, noting that the city of West Haven spent $750,000 to take a case to the Supreme Court.

The commissioners unanimously denied the application for an exception, citing the lack of suitable parking space. After the meeting, I asked Attorney Kirschner for his reaction to the ruling. He said that he would be speaking with the City's attorney to try to work out a plan for the sober house that would not involve litigation. He said, "The last thing we want to do is to go to court, but sometimes that's the only option."

Another pharmacy with a drive-thru window
In October, the P&Z approved plans for the congregation of the Shiloh Christian Church to build a new Church Building between Coe Avenue and Old Saybrook Road (Eye Story). On Wednesday night, the P&Z commissioners heard a proposal to build a Walgreens store with a Drive-thru pharmacy on the property they would be vacating.

Over 50 members of the Shiloh congregation, which will be able to build a new church with the money from Walgreens, came to support the drug store project. Sonja Manjon, as Vice President at Wesleyan, also came to support the construction of the Walgreens Store. Several residents of neighborhoods around the site expressed great concern about the traffic on surrounding streets. Other residents expressed concern about the lack of any plans to improve pedestrian or bicycle traffic. Elizabeth Emery pointed out that the professional traffic engineer failed to provide any information whatsoever on any traffic other than automobile traffic.

After hearing from dozens of members of the public, the commissioners debated whether the proposal should be approved. Only Catherine Johnson opposed the project. She said that the city was getting precious little in return for providing a special exception that greatly increased the value of the property. Commissioner Quentin Phipps said that his support for the project was reluctant, other commissioners expressed unabashed enthusiasm for another drive-thru pharmacy. The commissioners approved the project with two amendments: they encouraged the addition of a new cross-walk across East Main Street, and they asked the developer to make 10 of the 65 parking spaces not of asphalt but rather lined with a surface pervious to water.

Other approvals
The commissioners approved three separate projects by Water and Sewer: a water main extending from Moody School out Country Club Road to across I91, a storage building on Berlin Road, and a Bartholomew Road pumping station. They also approved a subdivision of the lot containing the Home Depot on Washington Street, to accommodate plans for a Price Chopper in that plaza. These all passed without substantial controversy.

The Conservation Commission proposed a change to the 1993 Plan of Conservation and Development, to designate the Merriam Tree Farm property as "suitable for acquisition as open space." This is necessary for the city to use money recently aproved by Common Council for the purchase of the development rights. This proposal did not generate much controversy, although one member of the public, Jeff Pierce, did say, "All this designation of open space is a bunch of hooey." Several members of the Conservation Commission spoke to the importance of the Merriam property for open space preservation. The P&Z commissioners unanimously approved the designation.

Still no chair.
In the absence of Barbara Plum, who in December (Eye Story) proclaimed herself chair because she was the last commissioner to have been so elected (in 2007), Richard Pelletier acted as chair for this meeting. Commissioner Pelletier rearranged the order of the agenda considerably from what was posted, to the consternation of several Shiloh congregation members, who were forced to wait with their children until nearly midnight for a decision on the Walgreens application. Commissioner Pelletier said that he had rearranged the agenda for good reasons, but this was apparently done without the knowledge of other commissioners, two of whom apologized for the change in agenda.

Early Thursday morning, Pelletier called for nominations for a chair. Barbara Plum and Deborah Kleckowski were both nominated, although neither was present for the meeting. The voting was inconclusive, as neither candidate garnered the 5 votes necessary for election.

Planning and Zoning October 22

The Planning and Zoning Commission met Wednesday evening to consider several applications for subdivision or special exceptions to the Zoning Code. There was extensive discussion over two of the properties during the public hearing portion of the meeting. There was also extensive discussion regarding a property on Higby Road that has been found in the past to be in violation of the city's zoning regulations.

29 Magnolia Avenue, near Farm Hill Road. In an application whose public hearing was continued from the October 8th meeting, Chatham Construction represented the lot owner, who has applied to put in a two family dwelling on a lot with less than the minimum 100 feet of street frontage. Several neighbors raised objections to this plan, because they feel that the two-family rental nature of the house would adversely affect their property values, and they are concerned about traffic. Several commissioners were skeptical of the neighbors, pointing out that usually a big fancy house raises the value of surrounding properties. Commissioner Catherine Johnson tried to get Sal, one of the neighbors to clarify whether he was afraid of the unknown, or whether it was renters in general that he was opposed to, Ms. Johnson asked him, "If Michelangelo designed the house, and Mother Theresa lived in one and (Commissioner) Les Adams lived in the other, would that be an eacceptable use?" Sal assured her that even if he knew who the designer and the renters would be, he would still oppose the construction of a two family house on the lot. Commioner Matt Lesser said that with the concerns he heard from the neighbors about their property values, he would not support the special exception. The design for this house included a horse-shoe shaped driveway at the front of the house, and both Johnson and a member of the public (Jennifer Saines) spoke in opposition to this feature of the plan. Ms. Johnson also raised the spectre of a citizen's proposed ordinance which would ban parking between the house and the street. Commissioner Ron Borelli said he felt uncomfortable holding somebody to an ordinance that does not yet exist, and pointed out that the Police Department had approved the traffic implications of this plan. Borelli proposed a friendly amendment that approval be subject to the condition that the semi-circular driveway be eliminated in favor of a traditional driveway. With this amendment, the special exception was approved, 5 - 2 (nay votes were Lesser and Johnson).

32 Coe Avenue. Attorney Ralph Wilson, engineer Pat Gorman, and architect Steve Rocko presented plans for construction of a new building to house the Shiloh Christian Church, and an associated 70 parking spaces, to be placed on 1.6 acres between Coe Ave and Saybrook Road. The development had received approval from the Inland Wetlands Commission, which is required because part of the property contains wetlands. It had also been reviewed and approved by the Greater Middletown Historical Preservation Board, because the new building would move the congregation from their original church built in 1872. This original church, on East Main street near Stop and Shop, is too small, has no parking, and lacks many of the features common in modern churches. The new construction would not only leave the old church with no further reason to exist, the plans call for the incorporation of the belfry, all the stained glass windows, and perhaps the facade of the old church in the new church. Johnson criticized the architect and the engineer for their design, which she claimed "embodies everything about what people consider urban sprawl." She challenged the assumptions underlying the need for 70 parking spaces, but Pastor Paul Hylton (shown in photo with the plans for the new church) assured her that with 130 members this was if anything too small a number. Johnson offered several new designs to the engineer and architect, and expressed her regret that they had not consulted her earlier in the process.

In the end, all of the commissioners supported the church's plans and the subdivision and Site Plan were approved unanimously. 30 parishioners of the church were at the meeting, an ethnically diverse group of all ages, almost entirely from Middletown. When the vote was taken, they burst out in joyful clapping and cheering.

106-110 Court Street, construction of an outside deck and bar. This was tabled.

Plan of Conservation and Development updates to Chapter 6 (Future Residential Growth) and to Chapter 9 (Promoting Commercial/Industrial Growth). Tabled until public hearings on all chapters have been held.

17 North Main Street. Robert Carlson requested zoning approval for a used car lot. He is a new owner of an existing company and needs P&Z approval to continue use of the property to sell used cars. 4-5 cars will be on the lot at a time. Approval was granted.
496 Saybrook Road. Medical spa consulting and development, special exception for business and professional offices. A public hearing was scheduled for the November 12th meeting.
Plan of Conservation and Development update. Public hearings for Chapter 7 and Chapter 10, which deal with Natural Resource Protection and Maromas, were scheduled for the December 10th meeting.

The other topic of discussion, brought up both under the Zoning Enforcement Officer's report and in the discussion with the public, was the use of land on Higby Road which is bisected by the border between Middletown and Middlefield. Trucks from throughout the area are bringing in asphalt, bricks, and construction debris to mix together on site into an aggregate that can be used in road construction. The owner of the property has been served with a cease and desist order to stop infilling. The site is also the target of a Department of Environmental Protection investigation for filling without a permit. Bruce Driska, the Middletown Zoning Enforcement Officer, stated that the owner is complying with the cease and desist order, and is now solely filling on the Middlefield side of the border. A member of the public, Eleanor Kelsey, told the commission of her woes with rodents this year in her garden (only 6 turnips to show for a 60 feet row, and one of those was hollowed out). After discussing all the possible reasons for the rodent infestation in her garden, she pointed her finger squarely at the same property. It appears that the City of Middletown has contracted with the owner of this Higby Road property on the Middlefield/Middletown border to compost all of the city's leaves. The resulting piles of leaves and wood chips are, according to Ms. Kelsey, the root of her rodent problem. She asked that the city do something about it. The commissioners agreed to review the permit which allowed leaf composting to be done on the property, to ensure that the permit was being followed. None of the commissioners had any suggestions for how Ms. Kelsey could get through the winter without her expected number of turnips.