Thursday night, October 29, was important – the first in-person hearing and the first opportunity for the public to comment on the BJ’s application. In our opinion, it was a smashing success!
Over 200 people attended and speaker after speaker got up and detailed the many reasons to deny the application – its potential for irreversible change in the town character, the undesirability of more big-box stores and fast-food restaurants, the potential for harmful stormwater runoff, the environmental harm from replacing forest with asphalt, and more.
Also, we submitted the hand-signed paper petitions that we have been busily circulating. We had 502 signatures but the more important fact is this: at a previous PZC meeting we were accused of NIMBYISM (Not in My Back Yard). But 62% of these signatures were from outside of the eastern part of town. 200 were from Short Beach alone, about as far away from the project site as one could get. So the NIMBYISM label is a fallacy.
Did anyone speak in favor of the application? Yes, but they were few and far between, outnumbered by us 5:1. Does this mean that the application will be denied? We can’t know. The decision is still in the hands of five people – the Planning and Zoning Commissioners. So the outcome is unclear but at least we can go into the next phase with elation and relief, knowing that our views are shared by many.
Want to watch the October 29 hearing? Click here for the BCTV video.
We can’t be complacent. PLEASE CONTINUE TO SUBMIT COMMENTS TO THE PZC at planningandzoning@branford-ct.gov As this issue gains visibility (three articles in the New Haven Register, one in the Hartford Courant, CBS, NBC), more supporters will come forth, so we need to keep our message front and center. You can be brief; see the talking points below or click here.
Questions? Contact us at BCRD56@gmail.com.
The next PZC meeting is this Thursday, November 5 by Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82772420034 . It will include presentation of expert testimony on stormwater runoff plus cross-examinations; there will not be an opportunity for public comment. The schedule after that has yet to be determined; we will keep you posted.
Talking Points
REASONS TO OPPOSE THE PROPOSED BJ’S DEVELOPMENT
1. This use is not allowed in this zone.
2. The proposal is inconsistent with the Town Plan of Conservation and Development.
3. It is totally out of character with the rest of the development of East Main St. from Leete’s Island Rd. to the Guilford town line.
4. Approval of this application will set a precedent for further such applications, which will ruin the character of this stretch of road, presently low in scale and including two houses listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
5. Traffic and concomitant pollution will increase.
6. Increased stormwater runoff could result in deposition of contaminated sediments in a land trust property and Long Island Sound.
7. The building will not remain a BJ’s forever but we will be stuck with this ugly unsuitable development.
8. Less intense uses can be found for this land; an example is the medical rehab center recently approved for the property across the street.
DID YOU KNOW? We are finding that a lot of people don’t realize the magnitude of this development. It is more than just a BJ’s. The developers are also proposing a 16-pump gas station, and commercial uses that may include a sit-down restaurant, two quick-serve restaurants with drive-thru lanes and a strip commercial building with a drive-thru. It’s enormous!
MORE INFORMATION
- PLANNING AND ZONING PORTAL which includes all materials filed with or by the PZC including plans, communications, etc. application no. PZ-39
- PLANNING AND ZONING MEETING AGENDAS
- BRANFORD ZONING REGULATIONS
- 2019 PLAN OF CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT
