Zoning commission approves Eno Memorial Hall rear-entrance, parking and Station Street changes (Application 25-03)

The Simsbury Zoning Commission on April 21 approved site plan application 25-03 for improvements at Eno Memorial Hall, 754 Avenue Street, that will widen rear walkways and ramps, add a second ADA-accessible entrance on the south side, reconfigure the parking lot and convert Station Street from one-way to two-way.

Planning and engineering staff presented the project and said the work will be phased. "For the record, Adam Kessler with the engineering department. The project tonight is at Eno Memorial Hall," Kessler said as he walked the commission through the proposal. Kessler told commissioners the rear (north) entrance is currently the only ADA-accessible entrance and the project’s highest priority is to provide a second accessible entrance on the south side because the building is used as a senior center.

Kessler said the parking layout will be simplified to meet current standards, reducing spaces in the existing lot from 40 to 30. The plan adds four parallel spaces adjacent to Eno and proposes up to 11 angled spaces on Railroad Street if funding allows. He described a small retaining wall—about three to four feet high—to create the Railroad Street spaces and said walkways to the building would be widened to roughly eight feet.

The presenter said the bocce court near the south entrance was installed years ago and is little used; it will be removed to make room for the new south entrance and walkways. Kessler also said the town previously put the work out to bid and received "extraordinarily high” prices, and staff performed value-engineering to reduce costs. He said the south-side entrance will be done first, leaving the existing north-side ADA entrance in service until the new south entrance is complete.

Commissioners asked about access during construction, whether the project would remove stairs at one driveway, and whether nearby businesses supported converting Station Street back to two-way. Kessler said businesses had championed the two-way conversion and that the conversion will create a standard 26-foot-wide roadway where the town will widen pavement in places and convert some asphalt back to grass in others.

The application was moved forward using the draft motion on the screen and in the staff report; the motion received a second. The commission approved the staff motion by voice vote; the clerk recorded the tally as 5 yes, 0 no, 1 abstention. The staff presentation noted the project has been reviewed with the State Historic Preservation Office because Eno Memorial Hall is a historic building, and that additional stipulations tied to historic review may apply.

Work order and phasing described by staff: south-side ADA entrance first (priority if funding is limited), Station Street one-way-to-two-way conversion second, and the parking-lot restripe/repaving last so contractor staging for the entrance work does not damage new pavement. The Engineering Department will manage implementation.

The commission did not set a construction start date during the meeting; staff said work could begin within a few months depending on funding and bid results.

The project record on the agenda is Application 25-03; the approved motion references the draft motion contained in the staff report.