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Polo Center addition approved after lot-line adjustments and easement; board notes reduced impervious area
Summary
Samuels Realty's 1,494 sq ft addition at the Polo Center won variances and plan approval; project requires internal lot-line changes and creation of a permanent driveway easement for Webbster Bank's drive-through, and the plan reduces overall impervious surface per engineer.
The Planning Board approved combined preliminary and final plan review and required variances for a 1,494-square-foot addition to an existing commercial building at the Polo Center, subject to conditions including identification of sewer and water lines on the property and creation of a permanent easement for continued drive-through access.
Jason Buzarski, representing Samuels Realty Company, said the tenant needed additional space and that the Polo Center consists of several internal lots. The proposed addition required adjusting internal lot lines — taking approximately 494 square feet from the adjacent Webster Bank lot — because the existing lot lines would otherwise intersect the new building. Buzarski said the changes create no physical alteration to existing travel paths; the applicant will establish a permanent driveway easement to preserve the Webster Bank drive-through access.
Engineering consultant Mike Russell (LDC Engineering) explained that the plan as submitted actually reduces impervious pavement overall by narrowing a driveway opening and reconfiguring some pavement. Board members requested clearer graphics showing the lot-line shifts and the before-and-after impervious-surface calculations; the applicant's team said the submitted materials and a site visit demonstrated the net increase in pervious area.
Other waivers sought included reductions in required window coverage on a façade and use of undivided-light windows to match existing center aesthetics. Several board members complimented the work done at the Polo Center and said the addition will integrate well.
The board voted to approve the requested variances (zoning section 6-0-3 for setbacks and section 13-o-1-d for off-street parking within 10 feet of a property line) and to grant the plan approvals and waivers, with the technical-review-committee condition that the applicant identify sewer and water lines on the property and submit that information for the file.
The motions were approved by voice vote. The applicant was advised to supply corrected development-impact numbers (to fix typographical inconsistencies noted by board members) and to submit the sewer/water identification to planning staff.
