Commission approves driveway-width variance and recommends 200,200-square-foot Hill Road industrial building to council with conditions

The Planning & Zoning Commission on Oct. 13 approved variance VA-25-014 to allow a driveway wider than the 25-foot maximum at a 29.65-acre site on Hill Road and recommended adoption of the site’s final development plan (FDP-25-006) to city council with conditions.

Variance and rationale

The variance request was prompted by the Fairfield County Engineer’s access-management rules, which require a single access point on that portion of Hill Road (an unposted island segment between posted 35 mph zones). To safely accommodate truck turning movements into a proposed 200,200-square-foot speculative industrial building and to provide a functional separation between employee and truck circulation, the applicant proposed an access width of approximately 36 feet at the right-of-way tapering to 30 feet inside the site. Staff noted similar variances have been granted for industrial users elsewhere in town and recommended approval. The commission approved VA-25-014 on a 4-0 roll call after opening and closing the public hearing.

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