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Commission approves temporary 76‑space gravel parking lot at 123 West Street with landscaping conditions
Summary
Simsbury commissioners approved ZC25‑30, a site plan for a temporary gravel parking area of up to 76 employee spaces behind 123 West Street for Burr Landscaping/Harbor Holdings LLC, adding a requirement for additional landscaping and standard stormwater controls; the lot is intended as interim employee parking until a small office is built.
The Simsbury Zoning Commission unanimously approved application ZC25‑30 on Nov. 7 to construct a temporary gravel parking area for up to 76 vehicles at the rear of 123 West Street (assessor's map F11 Block 103 Lot 002A). The applicant, represented by engineer Dave Ziax of F.A. Escott Associates and principals of Burr Landscaping/Harbor Holdings LLC, said the lot will serve as overflow employee parking during peak seasons and is intended to be temporary until an office building with permanent paved parking can be constructed.
Ziax described the parcel as approximately 1.2 acres (to be merged with an adjacent lot) and emphasized that no lighting is proposed for the temporary gravel lot. He also said grading will lower the lot so it sits below adjacent residences and that stormwater controls will be provided. A company representative told commissioners that Burr Landscaping employs about 85 people in the summer, explaining the parking demand.
Commissioners and residents raised questions about buffering and tree replacement; the commission added a friendly amendment requiring additional landscaping as appropriate to screen the temporary lot from adjacent residences, with final landscaping to be determined by staff during site‑plan review. The motion to approve the site plan with conditions passed unanimously.
Next steps: the applicant will merge lots, finalize the site‑plan details (landscaping, stormwater controls) with staff, and then implement the temporary parking arrangement; the commission noted the temporary nature and expected construction of a permanent office within a few years.
