Neighborhood representative asks council to restore NRZ input on special permits, objects to large occupancy in small bank building

Alyssa Peterson spoke during public comment on behalf of her neighborhood NRZ and asked the City Council to postpone two zoning items so that NRZs and Hartford Next can review them. She said two weeks earlier she had asked to delay consideration of a special permit that would allow a church to seat 235 people in a small former bank building — "75 seats in the 1st Floor of a small bank building and a new 160 seats on 1 half of the 2nd Floor" — and that the site has a limited parking supply and an unusual street angle at White and Broad.

Peterson said the NRZ had requested postponement so the full neighborhood group could review the proposal, but she was surprised when planning commissioners and corporation counsel Rich Fasalo effectively dismissed NRZ input. "Essentially, the NRZ input didn't matter," she said, and asked the council to consider reinstating an ordinance that would require NRZ input for special permits and for citywide zoning text changes affecting homeless shelters, rooming houses and group homes.

She also referenced the City of Hartford affordable housing plan approved three years earlier and said the plan emphasized services and emergency housing vouchers rather than more shelters; she said the proposed text changes for shelters and rooming houses did not reflect that plan. Peterson said she was glad to hear the item had been pulled and expected the council to address the NRZ‑input issue next year.

No vote or formal action occurred during public comment; the council president acknowledged the request and said he would follow up.