Cheshire planning commission approves Lot 4 resubdivision to allow Goddard School and 10,000‑sq‑ft retail building

The Town of Cheshire Planning and Zoning Commission on June 23 approved a resubdivision and a suite of land‑use permits that clear the way for a proposed Goddard School early‑learning center and a 10,000‑square‑foot retail building on Lot 4 of the Stonebridge Crossing development.

The approvals include a zone text amendment to the Interchange Special Development District (ICSDD) to add a daycare/learning center as an allowed use and to reduce the standard 25‑foot side setback to 12.5 feet for this lot, an earth‑removal/filling/regrading permit with a waiver, formal SDD (special development district) approval with conditions, and final sign‑off on the resubdivision. The commission set the effective date for the zoning changes as June 27, 2025.

Why it matters: Lot 4 is the final undeveloped parcel in the long‑running Stonebridge Crossing project. The votes complete local approvals for the developer’s plan to split the roughly 2.8‑acre lot into two parcels — one for the proposed Goddard School and one for the retail building — and to allow the site work and construction to proceed under the commission’s conditions.

Developer and project details Paul Bowman, one of the applicants and the developer of Stonebridge Crossing, told the commission the application would resubdivide Lot 4 into two parcels and close out the project within about a year. Darren Overton of SLR Consulting, a licensed professional engineer, summarized the site plan and utilities, saying, “All of the utilities are available in Stonebridge Court to serve the property.” The engineer described a single 24‑foot wide circular access drive with parking on both sides, a stormwater basin and standard water‑quality treatment measures consistent with prior lots in the development, and the presence of a turtle barrier installed to…