Simsbury, CT - Economic Development Commission Minutes

Mr. Giorgio stated that this site is approximately 45 acres of flat land ready for development. They acquired this property in 2005 and have invested approximately $3 million since then in the planning and reclamation of this site. They submitted their first application for a mixed-use project and a text amendment back in July 2006. They were asked to withdraw that text amendment because the community assured them that they would be writing their own amendment by September 2006. It is almost 2008 and there is still no Regulation. If Simsbury wants economic development, there has to be a commitment to try and develop the rules and regulations that are allowed to occur. Mr. Giorgio stated that he is very frustrated with this process.

Mr. Giorgio showed the current Master Plan of Dorsett Crossing to the Commission. They are proposing to develop a combination of commercial, office and residential on this property. This development is in no way trying to compete with the Center of Simsbury. They will be doing a complete analysis of the type of retail and services, which exist in Simsbury. Their objective is to find things that don’t exist so they can add to the overall retail base. He stated that they are anticipating restaurants and banks and a possible pharmacy within this mixed-use development. To the west of the retail, they are proposing rental property, predominately one-bedroom apartments, although there are also some two-bedroom Townhouse units with garages. Continuing to the west, there will be single-family or duplex/triplex units. To the far west of the property, there are 12 high-end executive condos. Mr. Giorgio showed renderings of the buildings to the Commission. The architect has made one bigger building look like it is several smaller buildings. They have designed them in a way to have maximum flexibility. It is possible to have retail on the first floor with an apartment above it. He stated that no matter where a person is standing in the commercial/retail part of the development, the perspective and scale would be such that the person will feel as though they are in a traditional neighborhood. This is the feel that they are trying to accomplish. He stated that 93,000 s.f. will be retail/commercial, although no footprint will be greater than 14,000-15,000 s.f. There is another 80,000 s.f. of office space, although it is hard to predict because different things can go in different locations.

Mr. Giorgio stated that this property is 5-6 acres of development with almost 3 acres of open space within the community. Regarding the timetable, he stated that they are very close to applying for the wetlands delineation on the entire site. There is a significant wetlands corridor, which they will not be touching. They will then come back in with a Master Plan, which will show all of the areas of crossing on the wetlands. Most of the crossings are already established because they are old farm roads. He stated that he is hoping to be before the Conservation Commission in January and February. By

March, they will hopefully start with the formal approval process, either with their own Regulation or under the Town’s Regulation. He believes that during February and March, they will go back to the Land Use Commissions on an informal basis. He is hopeful that they will have all of their approvals in place by June 2008, and then site work and infrastructure will begin. He is also hopeful that there will be initial occupancies in some of the properties by June 2009.

Commissioner Balboni questioned where the transformer station was on the plan. Mr. Giorgio showed the Commission that location and stated that they would be doing heavy landscaping and berming so the transfer station will not be seen. He also showed the Commission where the last tobacco barn on the property is located. He stated that they will be dismantling the barn and will be preserving as much of the exterior of the barn as possible. They will be recreating a facsimile of that barn, which will become the center of their maintenance operation. They will also offer this as a storage facility to retail owners and homeowners.

Commissioner Rechen questioned if there is a field to the south of this property. Mr. Giorgio stated that there are two fields between the skating center and the road. They are proposing to straighten out the intersection to the airport and put in a traffic signal. He continued to discuss the possibilities of creating a link to a future development and future growth in this area. Commissioner Rechen then questioned what the impact on traffic would be regarding peak hours and number of trips. Mr. Giorgio stated that they are proposing to put in a center esplanade; they will not be widening Hopmeadow. Because there is only a small amount of retail in this development, the impact is almost negligible. He stated that there are also some very interesting and old trees on this site. They have gone out and flagged them and are now in the process of determining which of these trees are healthy enough to keep; they have arranged their Site Plan around these trees.

Commissioner Deming questioned what the tax impacts would be for the commercial and office for the Town. Mr. Giorgio stated that they have not done that analysis as of yet. Because of the Mixed-Use Regulation not being in place, he stated that there have been so many starts and stops to this project. When the formal process starts within the next few months, the fiscal impacts study will be done and that data will be in place. From a cost perspective, (i.e. school costs), Mr. Giorgio stated that he believes it will be relatively low. Also, these are all private roads throughout this development. The maintenance of the roads will be done through an Association; there is only one public road, although there is still the issue of public safety.

Chairman George thanked Mr. Giorgio for coming before the Economic Development Commission. He also stated his concerns regarding the proposed PDD. He stated that this Commission did send a letter to the Zoning Commission letting them know that this Regulation should be implemented as soon as possible. He stated that Mr. Peck is working on the draft PDD and is hopeful that it will be completed by the end of the year for public hearings in January.

Chairman George stated that Mr. Peck has been working diligently with Special Counsel to get this draft Regulation completed and to give it to the Zoning Commission and other Land Use Boards so the Town can move forward. Regarding the delays associated with the PDD, Commissioner Rechen stated that the frustrations and concerns expressed by Mr. Giorgio are excellent evidence of what this Commission was talking about at their last meeting. He feels that this is a strong example of the kinds of concerns that exist throughout the community, some of which have probably steered people and developers away from Simsbury.

On behalf of FVVA, Nancy Ansty thanked the Economic Development Commission for their support. She handed out a packet containing the highlights of 2007, including the Showhouse, Get-A-Way packages, City & Country Canvases, etc. Also in the packet were proposals for projects in 2008, including working with Simsbury Mainstreet Partnership, working with Simsbury Tourism Committee, etc.

Main Street – Sarah Floroski stated that their Design Committee is up and running. Their first project is ENO regarding improvements made and changes to the sprinkler system. Regarding Preserve America designation in 2006, they had Carol Wallace’s artwork, which are the watercolors of Simsbury. These works of art will be used as a beginning for their marketing grant. Ms. Floroski also stated that they have been placing stories about local businesses in local newspapers; the last story ran in the Post, which was about Jeepers celebrating their anniversary. This week’s story will be about Sarah Burns in her new location. They have been trying to make the public aware that there are a lot of local business owners that have been in Simsbury for many years and highlight the fact that they are still here. Regarding the grant, she stated that they are moving forward; the Grant Committee met and will meet again before the holidays to start crafting their requests for proposals for consultants. A special revenue fund will be set up, which the grant money will go through to the Town of Simsbury, although this will need to be approved by the Board of Selectman and the Board of Finance. In January, they will start looking and hiring consultants to begin the marketing. She stated that they will also be printing a downtown retail map of Simsbury, which will be in a print form and also available electronically. There is currently no map of this kind available.

The Commission talked about CERC and the links that have been added to the site. They also talked about letting the community know about this service and how the site would be updated. Regarding creating an EDC Action Plan that would work in conjunction with implementation of responsibilities that they have for the POCD, Chairman George stated that there might be some consultants that can come in to help this Commission draft a Plan of what they would like to accomplish. This may be a budgetary item that they should add into the next budget.

Chairman George stated that he and Commissioner Deming have been working on determining what recreational/cultural things could be in this area that would help the Town Center. An environmental assessment will need to be done. They had a meeting with Mary Glassman to discuss this issue. She will be getting back to them to see how they can move to the next phase; she clearly knows the position of this Commission wanting to help the Town Center and businesses there. Commissioner Deming stated that Ms. Glassman also would like to look to see what other studies have already been done and what work has been done in-house. She will be collecting this information to see what additional services may be needed to do a full assessment of this area. The assessment is to see what areas are available for recreational fields, walking trails, fair grounds, etc.

Chairman George stated that the budget needs to be handed in right after their January meeting. He would like the Commission to start discussing this, although they will not be voting on the budget until January. As an update, there is $14,000 left in the budget to carry this Commission through until June 2008. Since the Economic Development Seminar was not held this year, that money is still available. He stated that out of the $62,000 that was budgeted, there is $14,000 still available, although some of this money is already earmarked for things such as Metro Hartford Alliance and Developers Showcase, etc. Also, Chairman George will be checking on when they usually contribute to FVVA and how much was paid to them last year. He stated that last year they contributed $3,200 to Mainstreet Partnership. They also

paid approximately $1,200 each month to Metro Hartford Alliance. The main components to last year’s budget will probably be the similar components of this coming year’s budget, although amounts will need to be discussed. They will also need to discuss hiring some type of part-time or full-time economic development coordinator/director, if this Commission thinks that is necessary.

There was some discussion regarding education and training. Sarah Floroski stated she believes that the Planning and Zoning Commissions should be more educated which goes beyond the basics; getting them up to speed and how different regulations are affecting things. Chairman George stated that he would like to bring people in to educate public officials. Although Ms. Floroski thought that was a good idea, she thinks that members of the Land Use Commissions should be going out to these seminars and conferences where they can meet and interact with other Commissioners from other Towns. Chairman George stated that they can not dictate to another Commission going to something outside, although they can help foster that by having a seminar here. Commissioner Haase stated that, in the past, this Commission has written letters during the budget process to encourage the Planning Department regarding education and to request funds for things like the GIS system, etc. The things that do not fall under their budget but would still effect economic development could be a letter for the budget process. She stated that Mr. Peck would probably know which seminar might be worth attending and have an idea of the costs associated with this. Regarding re-development, Chairman George stated that last year, they were going to bring in an expert to talk about the Town Center and re-developing infill and how to go about doing that.

Chairman George stated they should develop some type of material with handouts that could be kept at the Town Hall for residents to take and for the Planning Department to hand out. Also, the EDC could hand them out as they do business visitations. This information could also be available online. Sarah Floroski stated that they are having materials printed up and if the EDC would like to work together, they could create something that would have a uniform, consistent look. This would also be much more cost effective. Chairman George stated that if they work together or separately, there could be a benefit to using the same printer as opposed to having two separate people.