Cheshire commission approves Elm Park Place maintenance barn with environmental and safety conditions

The Cheshire Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously July 28 to approve a special permit and site-plan for a 60-by-100-foot maintenance barn at Elm Park Place, a continuing-care community at 140 Cook Hill Road. The commission’s approval includes conditions requiring a preconstruction meeting with town staff, installation of a fire-department knock box, and written, staff-approved sign-off for minor changes to landscaping, grading, utilities, or lighting.

The decision matters because the structure will relocate Elm Park Place’s existing maintenance operations closer to the Mill River and change stormwater, fueling and waste-handling patterns on a property that the commission and residents said is visible from neighboring homes. Commissioners pressed the applicant on runoff, spill prevention for an above-ground fueling pad, septic vs. sewer connections, lighting and nighttime visibility, and neighborhood screening.

Henry Thomas, a landscape architect and principal with LRC Group, described the proposal and site layout at the public hearing. He said the new barn is proposed on two parcels at the eastern end of the Elm Park Place property and will replace an older maintenance area near the pond so that the…