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Fairfield planning commission refines landscape rules, begins shaping commercial overlay
Summary
The Fairfield Planning and Zoning Commission spent most of its Jan. 7 meeting revising a draft landscape ordinance (trees, irrigation, decorative rock, and professional-plan definitions) and began defining permitted uses and size limits for a commercial overlay; staff will send drafts to the town attorney and prepare maps for further review.
The Fairfield Planning and Zoning Commission on Jan. 7 advanced a draft landscape ordinance and opened a detailed discussion about a commercial overlay that will list permitted uses and size thresholds.
Commissioners agreed to keep trees as a required element in parking areas and settled on a working minimum that "5% of total parking here shall be landscaped," while also discussing a standard that at least 20% of the total landscape area be live vegetation. Commissioners flagged enforcement as a practical concern if living-plant requirements remain in the code and asked staff to retain flexibility where irrigation or plant survival would be impractical.
On definitions, commissioners replaced the narrower term "architect" with a broader "landscape professional" and agreed on a concise definition focused on technical knowledge, design, installation and irrigation. The commission also clarified that "decorative rock" in plan calculations should not include road base or material used solely for vehicular access.
The meeting moved from landscape specifics into the commercial overlay, where commissioners reviewed a model uses table and proposed size caps: examples discussed included art galleries at about 5,000 square feet, athletic/recreation facilities around 10,000–20,000 square feet, and many small retail and service uses capped at 5,000–20,000 square feet depending on type. Commissioners expressed reluctance to allow food trucks as permanent, year-round fixtures in the commercial zone and discussed buffer distances and lighting controls for gas stations (the draft retains a 1,000-foot buffer from residences in the packet under review).
Commissioners directed staff to format the revised draft, send it to the town attorney for legal review, and prepare 11-by-17 sketch maps showing proposed commercial zones so the commission can mark preferred locations before returning a proposal to the town council and scheduling a public hearing.
The commission did not adopt a final ordinance at the meeting; the revisions were procedural and preparatory. Staff and commissioners emphasized that many numeric thresholds remain placeholders and can be changed later or adjusted through variances and that final decisions will follow legal review and public hearing.
