Public hearing opened on zoning change to allow storage in office–business district; petitioners, neighbors differ on impacts

The Town of Middletown council opened a public hearing on a proposed zoning ordinance amendment that would allow standalone storage uses in the office–business (OB) district by special-use permit. The hearing was the ordinance’s first reading; council kept the hearing open for additional comment and materials.

What was proposed Attorney David Martin, representing the petitioner, said the change would permit storage as a use allowed by special-use permit in the OB district, enabling the owner of the KVH building (a roughly 70,000-square-foot structure near Town Hall) to formalize about 30,000 square feet of existing storage while pursuing mixed reuse of the remainder of the building, including health/fitness uses and office space. Martin told the council that the planning board recommended the use be permitted by special use so the zoning board could review any specific application and impose conditions.

Petitioner presentation and site description Developer/owner representative Larry Phillips described the building as a “high-bay storage warehouse” with a portion currently used for KVH storage and said his plan would convert the frontage into storefronts and a promenade while locating limited, primarily seasonal, storage and loading activities toward the rear of the building. Phillips said the storage use is largely seasonal and limited in traffic, with some tractor-trailer deliveries now occurring about once a week; he said proposed storefront and fitness uses would animate the frontage facing the parking lot.

Public comment and council questions Several councilors said they would like a site diagram and renderings to understand traffic, loading and how a storage use would fit with the new library, planned housing and other nearby uses. Resident speakers cautioned against changing a zone-wide use table for a single building: one commenter said the amendment could allow self-storage or other warehouse uses at multiple OB locations and described the risk of “spot zoning.” Another resident and business representative said existing vehicle deliveries occur about once a week and that the zoning change should be reviewed closely by planning and zoning boards with conditions set at the site-specific review stages.

Process and next steps The council received the ordinance on first reading, opened the public hearing and left the hearing open for a second reading and additional materials. If the council adopts the change in the ordinance, the petitioner will need to present a site-specific application (site plans, renderings, unified plan review) to the planning and zoning boards; those boards could impose conditions on parking, traffic, outside storage, hours and other operational details. Councilors asked staff to provide the number and locations of OB districts in town to inform further consideration.

Why it matters The proposed change would alter what types of commercial activity can be authorized in an OB district, but the special-use permit pathway preserves site-by-site review. Neighbors and councilors flagged traffic, compatibility with adjacent uses (including the proposed library and housing), and the risk that subsequent owners might propose different and more intensive warehouse uses. The council scheduled further review and asked the petitioner to provide diagrams and renderings before the next hearing.