ND & PZC ballot
I've been playing around with the polls and am pretty sure that you should be able to vote for more than one P&Z candidate option. And if you're curious why I selected those three P&Z members, I'm pretty sure they are the only P&Z candidates up for election this fall... I have no idea who among them will be running for reelection... although there has been talk of Patti Flynn Harris running for Council... but that's purely speculation.
Back to development though... here's an article on the firestorm that is brewing in Madison over a proposed zoning change (NHR, Abbe Smith) to allow commercial development along I-95.
And on a different topic, I've got a wedding to go to this weekend (no... not my own). So I'm not sure if I'll be blogging at all.
Tim White
Town Council, 4th District
39 comments:
Madison is dead set against this. At last nights meeting there were so many people who turned out (against) that the fire marshall closed the meeting. It will be rescheduled for a later date. Madison is smart enough to realize this is not in their best interest.
Madison seems to care about the character of their town.
Sounds the same as several other requests for zone changes. Why are all these developers placing the cart before the horse? Is this some new cheap way to beat the existing zoning laws that are in place to protect the towns and their citizens? It's happening everywhere. Why now? Why should the courts decide the fate of towns? It seems to me they have found a way to have the system work in their favor. All citizens should pay attention to this...
If not, we the citizens will lose.
I can't wait to have the north end shoppes in Cheshire. It will be great/
wasn't Madison in an uproar about taxes on homes and cuts to the school budget,,,,,seems their a bit inconsistent in their priorties
They realize these developments are not the tax produces everyone makes them out to be. They also want to keep Madison a town with character. Not all development is good development.
well, I see they thought electing a Dem state rep would be the ticket since she promised to bring home lots of dough from Hartford...well Tom Gaffey told her to drop dead, the money was all still going to Hartford and New Haven.
The bottom line is the antigrowth people don't care about local taxes and the pro-growth people appear not to care about local spending. (residential apartments?.....please!)
Using Madison is a very bad example ....they cannot have their cake and eat it too. Neither can we
What everyone fails to realize is this is mainly about a zone text change. A developer is requesting (the same as Madison) for a text change to change zoning laws to their benefit. As far as Cheshire is concerned this is just 100 acres of a 400 acre parcel. If this is changed what's to stop another developer from requesting similar development for the remaining 300 acres. He will win in court because we've already opened the door. Thus we have a route 10 that will look like Queen Street and RT 5. Look at Canton and other areas that have allowed these developments. They are increasing their police force budgets because of the added crime. Cheshire has always been a quiet, safe town. The tax base will not increase significantly (if any) -so where is the benefit to Cheshire. Guilford has already said no, the developer has pulled out of Watertown and Madison has a swell of opposition, Cheshire should follow suit. The P&Z should not make any decisions prior to the completion of impact studies.
speak for yourself, Westfield
What??????? Sorry, not Westfield. Concerned citizen who's looking out for Cheshire and myself in the process.
9:26
Madison may have been in an uproar over taxes but they do have their priorities in order. Development comes at a price. Taxes and spending should and must be addressed in the budget process. A community cannot expect to develop itself out of a tax problem.
Unless a municipalty has a tax a authority that includes a local sales tax(illegal thank God in CT...so far) then a retail complex is not going to generate enough taxes to offset its own cost.
I respect the lunicy of anon. 10:21 who simply can't wait for the shops and hasn't extended an ounce of intellectual effort on accessing the impact to our town.
He/she doesn't care and as far as I'm concerned they should shop until they drop.
It's too late for Cheshire to try to be a pristine, little town. The real estate agents and developers overdeveloped Cheshire years ago. Cheshire is not Madison. It simply is not the quaint, little town residents want to pretend it is.
To lag behind is foolish at this juncture.
Cheshire compared to other towns is quaint. If you feel it was overdeveloped years ago your thinking is just make it worse.
8:32
So Cheshire is a lost cause anyway? Build whatever generates excitement for a year and headaches for many more. Where is your head? Pristine is not the issue.
For God's sake we're Cheshire, CT. A town that has developed and evolved over a 275 year history benefiting from the fruits of thousands of welcomed newcomers. We're not stuck in some time warp. Farmers here actually make quite a bit of money alongside well developed industrial parks, commercial areas amd residential neighborhoods for widely varying income levels.
We're not here to duplicate another place. We have a local identity that at this jucture is held up by many residents and out of towners in a very positive light. I don't see how adding an enormous shopping center adds anything to uphold that special identity.
Did you ever ask yourself why the developer wants to emulate an old New England town center? It a contrivance for places that lack one. And Cheshire has one that has endured splendidly over time and remains a source enormous town pride.
I'm not ready to throw in the towel on the town I call home.
the lot there isn't go to stay vacant forever....the next proposal might be another truck stop for all we know
I am amazed that people think just because a shopping center goes up...taxes will go down...
anon 8:32.....Cheshire has a town Center? Huh........yes we have a town green,...but a town center? No......this town needs and people want the development on the northend.......
How in the world will a shopping center off the highway, bordering Southington be equated to a town center? That's some stretch.
anon 8:45 & 9:18 It's people like you that make up the backbone of Cheshire. These people who are promoting this huge change are just using smoke and mirrors. They are running scared. They thought this was going to be flown under the radar. Well guess what. You woke up a sleeping Giant. You fooled all the members of the Economic Developement Commission (who should all resign except for one) and the Chamber of Commerce(except for one). How can these people support this? What is their rational? No impact study. There is none. They are either uninformed or are being persuaded (could have used a stonger word). W/S is using them as a reference to promote this illusional "Life Style Center". Do you know that there is a pool in this very fluid proposal. It's whatever will sell this week. What we have as our zoning regulations now are what planners and EDC are saying should be done to promote healthy growth. Go to web sites. Learn as much as you can and attend the 5/7 P&Z meeting. They're sweating....
A lot of Cheshire residents like to use Wallingford as an example of blight. Have you ever walked down the center of Wallingford?Beautiful, well maintained older homes, businesses thriving and even better...PEOPLE walking and connecting with each other.
That's what a lot of us in Cheshire would like.It's not here and many of us wish we had that kind of town center.
What is wrong with getting some more retail business in town. The location is in the northern part of the town,away from most residential.
Years ago the movers and shakers in the town felt the Apple Valley Mall was just what the town needed. I don't understand the change in thinking now?
I guess you are not aware of the 90 or so cond's in Southington( built by a Cheshire dev.) The often changing plan for the 100 acres of the 400 is for more than 150 condo's/garden apts? Way in the northend away from residential?
More retail in the center of town would be great...Apple Valley Mall-maybe someone did an impact study that was never revealed .
The Southington condos are expensive and age restricted. What I believe is on the table is non-age restricted rental housing.....which may make the developer $$$ but will be a loss leader for the town if I ever saw one.
Boy those shoppes keep looking better and better to me. Lets move forward not backward. you know you want it..
No I don't. Like a little child you will learn that you always can't have what you want... So keep on crying...
Look at Canton. They wanted it? Ask them now.I Bet that they wanted Cheshire to go first. 750 police calls to "the LIFE STYLE CENTER" last year. Canton is not even near I-84. I can't wait.....
the only place that I hear anything negitive about this project is here.
Go to some other web sites regarding the same. It appears people are waking up. Sorry.
If this was only one parcel in the center of town it would be great. It will change the other 300acres. That is huge. It has been proven that this will suck the life out of the other shops.
anon 9:22 What other websites are you referring too?
I seriosuly doubt a place like Hine's is going to be damaged by a fashion oriented mall four miles away
anon 12:44
1. wwwcantoncare.org Check out "links of interest"
2. www.noheds06443.com for Madison
3. www.ctsmartgrowth.com
anon 6:52 I support Hines and the local lumber yards as much as I can. They still have free delivery and owned by local people. No this would not hurt but the 3 Home Depots and 1 Lowes nearby might, I for one hope not.
Anon 3;16.....not one of those websites is local
I'm sick and tired of politicians in Hartford taking my money and telling folks elsewhere in the state they are too dumb to make their own decisions about their own towns
Rumor has it that the Democrats are pushing this project. Why it is hard to understand, but Justin Adinofi, a Democrat was on the Planning and Zoning Commission before he was on the Town Council. After he left the Town Council, the Town council gave him a $20,000 contract to work on a town strategic plan.
Justin is a main proponent of changing the zoning of the Interchange Zone to allow retail and residential. He is also a main proponent for the W/S retail residential proposal.
He is the one that is running petitions for the Shopping Center at Stop and Shop and telling the Planning and Zoning Commission that from his scant petition results, 400 signatures, that the people of Cheshire overwhelmingly want the shopping center. Many of these signers were real estate people or didn't really know what they were signing. Who was Justin working for when he ran the petitions.
Is Justin still working for the Town Council?
Is Justin working for W/S?
Was the council influenced by the fact that Justin was a past council person? Will the Planning and Zoning Commission be more influenced by a past council person and past member of the Planning and Zoning Commission than by the best interests of the people of Cheshire.
Hello, someone is finally getting the picture!!!
Wasn't there $14,000 in this year proposed budget for a strategic plan whatever? It was taken out. Watch for it to appear again as some other TC non-vote OK. I'm so PO'd right now. This is so wrong.
Who's puppet is he?
What is a " some other TC non-vote?
So do you think there was another $14,000 planned over the first $20,000?
Watch for it to appear again as some other TC non-vote OK. I'm so PO'd right now. This is so wrong
TC - Town Council. Approved without Town Council imput. Under the radar. $14,000 additional, yes.
Madison P&Z denies amendment to town's zoning regulations unanimously. Details on web site "www.noHEDS06443.com". They had over 400 people attend. Where are the Cheshire citizens? Shopping..
Guilford then Madison. Cheshire should do the same. Let's keep the "C" (Character) in Cheshire.
Attend the meeting on May 7TH Town Hall 7:30 pm or write letters to the P&Z and voice your opinions.
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