Shelton planning commission keeps public hearing open on Crown 0.2 mixed‑use project after debate over parking, boundary change and traffic

The Shelton Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday continued the public hearing on application 2420, a planned development district (PDD) proposed by Crown 0.2 LLC for 0 Bridgeport Avenue and 48 Long Hill Crossroads, after hearing a presentation from the applicant and extended public comment from neighbors concerned about traffic and the loss of a proposed conservation easement.

Attorney Dominic Thomas Cohen, representing the applicant, told the commission the main change since prior hearings is that the PDD boundary was shifted to follow the top of an existing retaining wall so the upper area will remain in the LIP (Light Industrial/Planned) zone rather than be included in the PDD. Cohen said his client filed a revised civil site plan and a 52‑page wetlands analysis report that will be submitted to the wetlands agency “tomorrow,” and that the sewer reconstruction concept has WPCA approval in principle. He also said a lighting plan now shows full downward lighting with “no light off the site,” and that off‑site road improvements related to the project would total about $5,000,000.

Why it matters: commissioners and residents focused discussion on two practical issues that shape whether the project can be approved as proposed — whether the site will have adequate parking for proposed uses (hotel, restaurants, grocery, retail) and whether traffic impacts at the Long Hill Crossroads/Bridgeport Avenue area are sufficiently mitigated. Neighbors from the adjacent Hawkes Ridge community urged retaining an earlier proposal for eight townhouses…