Planning commission recommends rezoning portion of 432 Canterbury Turnpike to Planned Development District

NORWICH — At a special hybrid meeting Tuesday, May 6, the Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend that the City Council approve an ordinance to rezone a portion of the parcel now addressed as 432 Canterbury Turnpike (formerly 253 Lawler Lane) from R80 to Planned Development District.

Commission members heard that the portion targeted for rezoning is part of a larger parcel already zoned Planned Development District and sits about 250 to 270 feet from the intersection of Scotland Road and Lawler Lane. The applicant, MCDC, asked the council to rezone the remaining R80 portion so the entire parcel would carry the same Planned Development District designation.

The applicant's representative described the request as a housekeeping measure to resolve a split zoning configuration that, they said, hampers marketing and the parcel’s use for planned development purposes. "We're stuck with this 1 lot that has 2 different zoning configurations," the applicant representative said, calling the rezoning necessary to market the parcel effectively.

Planning staff advised commissioners that the rezoning is consistent with the municipality's guiding plan. "It's consistent with growth goal number 3 to promote economic development and expansion of the city's tax base," Dan, planning staff, told the commission, citing strategy P 3‑1 in the Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD).

A commissioner moved for a favorable recommendation to the City Council (the motion text was not specified in the record). Commissioner Jason seconded. The commission voted in favor; the chair said the recommendation was unanimous. The commission's action is a recommendation to the City Council and does not itself change the zoning map.

The referral will go to the City Council for its consideration under the usual ordinance process. No date for a council vote was stated during the meeting.

Meeting context: the special meeting was brief and limited to this single referral; commissioners present included the chair, Dean, Nick and Commissioner Jason (attendance and exact vote counts were not itemized in the transcript).