Middletown planning board delays decision on West Main–Coddington overlay after wide public concern

The Middletown Planning Board on April 10 continued consideration of three pending petitions that would amend the town's future land use map, change the zoning of parcels on West Main Road and Coddington Highway, and create a new West Main'Coddington overlay district intended to enable the proposed Middletown Center development.

Town solicitor Peter Regan said the board's role was advisory: "the planning board's job tonight is to provide an advisory opinion and any recommendations to the town council," and that any zoning change would be reviewed against the town's comprehensive plan and the purposes of zoning.

The petitions before the board were: (1) a change to Map L4 of the Middletown Comprehensive Community Plan to reclassify Assessors Plat 102, Lots 3'7 from institutional to general business; (2) a zoning map amendment to rezone those lots from Public Traffic Sensitive (PA) to General Business Traffic Sensitive (GBA); and (3) creation of the West Main'Coddington overlay district under Town Code Chapter 152 so the development team can implement a mixed'use project on town-owned land.

The meeting opened with a presentation by the applicant team and town staff. Town administrator Sean Brown summarized the project history and recent changes, saying the proposal "has been shaped by planning, public input, federal coordination, and a long term…