Proposed zoning changes around sub base to go to hearing Tuesday
Groton — People will be able to comment on proposed zoning changes to the area around the Naval Submarine Base — which officials have said are intended to encourage appropriate development while protecting the Navy's interests — during a public hearing on Tuesday.
The Planning & Zoning Commission meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in Community Room 2 of the Town Hall Annex at 134 Groton Long Point Road.
Over the summer, the town introduced the proposed changes to the district around the base, which is currently zoned as the Nautilus Memorial Design District, and held a site walk and public information session. Town staff and a consultant said the area hasn't seen much development over the years and new zoning would help provide more certainty for owners trying to develop properties.
"The NMDD zone and regulations were established in 1984 in order to enhance the entrance to the newly constructed Nautilus Memorial Museum, to service tourist and Navy related needs and to provide protection to adjacent residential areas," Assistant Planning Director Deborah Jones wrote in a Dec. 5 memorandum to the commission. "A number of commercial, residential and personal services are allowed by Special Permit provided they are consistent with the design objectives of the district. Very little development has been approved in the district since 1984 and a number of planning documents recommend revising the zoning in this area."
She added that several property owners had asked to modify the regulations for a simpler permitting process.
Jones said the proposal calls for changing the majority of the NMDD into a Commercial, Neighborhood zone which would continue to allow a mix of housing, retail and service businesses but fewer uses would require a special permit.
An overlay zone further would be placed on three properties on the western end of Crystal Lake Road near the base entrance to ensure compatibility with the base, according to the July presentation.
A total of seven properties, most along Pleasant Valley Road North and two on the eastern end of Crystal Lake Road, would be rezoned as a residential RU-20 zone to be more in line with their current use, said Jones.
The town notified both property owners in the NMDD zone and property owners within 200 feet of the zone of the proposed changes and hearing, she said.
The hearing will also include some clarification of other aspects of town's overall zoning regulations, according to the agenda.
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