Preston agency to present plan for hospital property

Preston - Members of the Redevelopment Agency will give the Planning and Zoning Commission a conceptual plan for the former Norwich State Hospital property on Tuesday, hoping for an endorsement that will allow the agency to take its next steps.

The commission meets at 7:30 p.m. in the town hall.

The latest sketches divide the property into six parcels instead of 11, said Kent Borner, Redevelopment Agency chairman, who said the agency used recommendations the agency heard at public forums.

Borner said state statute requires a written opinion from the Planning and Zoning Commission before the agency can move on to public hearings and then a town meeting at which voters would decide whether to approve the concept.

Borner referred to the plan as "very high level, kind of flying at 50,000 feet looking down" and said it's subject to change.

Borner said the plan complies with all of the town's zoning regulations except for the residential component, which he described as being mostly "complementary housing" that sits above retail buildings in a village concept. The conceptual plan does not specify a number of units, he said.

The categories in the plan include commercial, recreational, open space, and light industrial.