Process.
(1) Applicants hereunder are strongly encouraged to arrange for preliminary meetings with the Design Review Team and the Zoning Commission prior to submitting an application for a design district.
(2) A complete application form for a design district application shall be submitted.
(3) A design district application shall be processed in accordance with the procedures adopted under §
470-904 of these regulations.
(4) A public hearing shall be scheduled in accordance with §
470-904 of these regulations.
(5) Detailed site plan required. The applicant may, as part of the general development plan under §
470-501C(2)(b), submit a complete site development plan prepared by a professional, in conformance with §
470-901, and the requirements of this section. If a site development plan is not submitted with and approved as part of the Master Plan, a site development plan shall be submitted in accordance with §
470-901 as part of a subsequent application.
Master Plan requirements.
(1) A design district may only be established by the approval of a Master Plan in accordance with this section. The approval of a Master Plan shall be an approval of a zoning regulation amendment and zoning map amendment granted by the Commission.
(2) At a minimum, the Master Plan shall include the following: see
§ 470-501C(2)(a) for a detailed list.
Decision considerations.
(1) In addition to the decision considerations under §
470-904 the Commission shall consider the following:
(a) Whether the proposal is consistent with the Plan of Conservation and Development;
(b) Whether the proposal complies with the Master Plan requirements as documented above;
(c) Whether abutting streets and nearby intersections that would have more than 100 or more vehicle trips in a peak hour, are capable of, or will be improved to the extent necessary to, accommodate the development traffic, pursuant to a traffic impact analysis in conformance with §
470-708, with a goal of maintaining a "Level of Service A," but in no event shall the level of service be lowered less than "C" defined by the Connecticut Department of Transportation, weekdays 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Saturdays noon to 5:00 p.m. If the existing conditions are lower than Level of Service "C," such level of service shall be improved (as determined by a professional traffic engineer);
(d) Whether the uses proposed are consistent with the special permit considerations and criteria of §
470-902E;
(e) Adherence to the purposes of the district;
(f) Consistency with other applicable regulations; and
(g) Consistency with C.G.S. § 8-2.
Terms of approval. In addition to any standard conditions of approval or any site-specific conditions of approval, the following terms of approval shall apply to a design district approved under these regulations:
(1) The Master Plan, signed as accepted by the applicant and as approved by the Commission, with the effective date noted, shall be filed in the office of the Town Clerk, and shall be incorporated by reference as an amendment to these regulations, and the rezoning shall not be effective until such filing;
(2) The applicant shall provide 15 complete and bound copies of the approved Master Plan, which shall be provided in a manner easily distributable to the public. The applicant shall also provide an electronic/digital copy of this requirement, compliant with Town standards;
(3) The approval of the design district shall become null and void unless a site development plan for some portion or all of the approved design district is approved within an effective date occurring within five years of the date of approval of the zone map change, or, upon the filing of an appeal, five years of the final dismissal of such appeal by a court of competent jurisdiction. The Commission may grant one or more extensions of this period upon the written request of the applicant.
(4) Any subsequent site development plan shall conform to the standards of development and substantially conform to the size, location, and architecture or buildings contained in the Master Plan;
(5) Site development activities shall not commence until proof of official capacity reservation has been provided from the WPCA to the Town ZEO; and
(6) Any provision of these regulations applicable to the property prior to the zoning map and regulation amendment and not superseded by adoption of the Master Plan, standards, and zoning map and regulation amendments shall continue in full force and effect.
Amendments.
(1) Modifications of an approved Master Plan, adopted standards, subsequent regulations, and an approved site development plan may be submitted and approved by the Commission without a public hearing, provided that the Commission finds that such modifications do not substantially alter the character of the approved Master Plan. Such change shall not be adopted except by a vote of 2/3 of all the members of the Commission.
