Planning and Zoning Commission approves expansion of Black’s Road outdoor storage park with stormwater and fire conditions

The Town of Cheshire Planning and Zoning Commission voted to approve a site plan for an expansion of an existing self-storage facility and an outdoor storage park at 225 and 243 Blacks Road on a motion moved by Commissioner Bowman and seconded by Commissioner Corderas; the motion carried unanimously.

The applicant, JRH LLC (applicant Ryan McEvoy; agent Austin Dowd of SLR Consulting), proposed adding one building on the eastern portion of the site and an outdoor storage area on the western half. Austin Dowd, SLR Consulting, said the western half of the site had been disturbed under a prior earth-removal permit and that “we are here for the second half of that project, pretty much.” Dowd said the site is zoned I-2 and lies within the aquifer protection area for the North Cheshire Well Field; the project team has been in communication with R.W.A., which submitted a comment letter with relatively minor items that Dowd said should be addressed with minor plan changes.

The commission’s approval cites plans titled "Blacks Road outdoor storage park" prepared by SLR, revision date 12/11/2024. Dowd described the stormwater approach as minimal because site soils are sandy and have a high infiltration rate; the plan proposes one infiltration basin to handle runoff from the expansion and to connect to an existing on-site infiltration basin and hydrodynamic separator. Dowd said no expansion of public water or septic is proposed and that utilities on the outdoor storage side would be limited to electricity for cameras and site lighting.

Approval was granted with conditions including (1) installation of emergency key boxes at locations determined by the fire chief or designee and (2) provision and maintenance of a fire-department-approved automatic slide-gate override. The commission’s motion notes engineering review had no outstanding comments and the fire department’s comments were described as manageable.

The commission read the application as seeking site plan approval under section 30.59306(a) of the Cheshire zoning regulations for a self-storage and storage yard on Assessor’s Map 19, Lot 53 and Map 29, Lot 2 in Zone I-2. The commission’s approval statement says the applicant demonstrated compliance with Cheshire zoning regulations and lists the two fire-safety conditions above.

The vote followed a brief question-and-answer period with Dowd about whether electrical outlets for battery chargers would be provided and confirmation that an existing on-site office could accommodate charging if needed. No further conditions or changes to water/sewer infrastructure were proposed. The commission’s action finalizes site-plan approval; the record does not specify a construction start date.