Planning commission approves Comcast site plan, discusses phantom road width and tables Garcia plan

The Fairfield Planning and Zoning Commission on July 2 approved the Comcast site plan, discussed a long-standing mapped “phantom” road and told the applicant for an incomplete Garcia/Efron site plan to return with required materials.

The commission’s discussion about the phantom road focused on whether a mapped 66-foot right-of-way near Main Street and 75 North should be reduced to 56 feet. Commissioners and staff said the road is currently shown on town maps and that reducing the width now would offer only about five feet of relief to adjacent property owners while potentially constraining future town needs.

Commissioners said town records show the road as a proposed 66-foot right-of-way. Commissioner Wayne Taylor said he had discussed the issue with Kent Withers and that Withers did not object to reducing certain crossings to 56 feet, while urging that a likely collector route remain at 66 feet. Planning staff said the town previously required a 10-foot easement in that area and that the fire marshal recently reminded the town that pavement and access dimensions must allow fire apparatus to operate; participants referenced a minimum pavement width of 32 feet in that guidance.

Nearby property owners and applicants raised practical concerns: one applicant said a private well sits on or near the mapped alignment and worried that a paved road or easement could affect that well; another raised concerns about removing mature trees. Commissioners said the town should require a survey before any permanent change to a mapped right-of-way and that no narrowing would be approved without a formal, recorded action. Several commissioners said they saw little benefit in narrowing roads now if the town intends to keep the right-of-way for possible future public use.

On separate site-plan items, the commission approved the Comcast site plan by motion and vote after brief review. Commissioners noted that building permits and subsequent permit reviews would require the applicant to provide evidence (for example, for concrete PSI for concrete pathways) at the building-permit stage.

The commission also reviewed an Efron/Garcia site plan and found multiple missing items — including water service details, power information and construction specifications — and tabled that plan pending a fuller submittal. Commissioners asked the applicant to provide clearer, zoomed-in plans, water, power and parking information and more complete landscaping and drainage details before the commission would consider approval.

Votes at a glance - Approval of minutes for the June 4, 2025 meeting — approved unanimously (Kyler: yes; Jamie Mascaro: yes; David Reed: yes; Wayne Taylor: yes). - Comcast site plan — approved by vote (Kyler: yes; Jamie Mascaro: yes; David Reed: yes; Wayne Taylor: yes). - Garcia/Efron site plan — no action; tabled for missing items and further review.

The commission asked staff to obtain a clearer survey and maps showing existing fences and pins where the phantom road is mapped, and to pass along the fire marshal’s guidance on access widths. Commissioners said the town owns the mapped right-of-way and that any official change would require a formal action recorded with the town.