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Norwich ZBA approves variance allowing Bob's Discount Furniture to stage trailers, imposes screening and hours limits
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Summary
The Norwich Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously to approve a use‑variance for Bob's Discount Furniture to stage detached semi‑trailers on a General Commercial parcel, limiting operations to daylight hours, capping on‑site trailers at 500, and requiring vegetative screening and a mapped no‑parking area.
The Norwich Zoning Board of Appeals on March 10 approved a use‑variance allowing Bob's Discount Furniture to use a parcel on Stonington Road for the outdoor staging of detached semi‑trailers, imposing conditions that include vegetative screening, a cap of 500 trailers, and hours limited to Monday–Saturday, 7 a.m.–7 p.m.
The variance (Application B‑2601, Assessor map 111, Block 1, Lot 66) was requested to support a nearby distribution center that, company representatives said, uses external yards for short‑term staging. In testimony, a company executive described the staging as part of the firm’s nationwide distribution model and said the trailers typically turn over every seven to ten days. “If we don’t get this, we cannot operate here anymore,” Pete Sorrentino, senior vice president of supply chain for the company, told the board.
The applicant also described security measures — a gated entrance and 24‑hour, motion‑triggered remote monitoring — and said trailers are kept in the rear of the lot away from the road. Neighbors who spoke at the public hearing voiced mixed reactions: some said they had observed only a few tractor‑trailers a day and did not object, while others urged more buffering and questioned whether the applicant had demonstrated the legal hardship required for a variance. “The applicant really hasn’t demonstrated that,” said Chuck Mandel, an adjacent property owner and commenter, who argued the parcel has several permitted uses that were not explored and urged clearer mapping and screening.
After a lengthy deliberation the board amended and approved a motion to grant the variance with conditions: vegetative screening at locations shown on a marked sketch (to be entered as Exhibit 20), designation of prohibited parking areas on that sketch, hours restricted to Monday–Saturday, 7 a.m.–7 p.m., and a maximum of 500 trailers on the parcel. The board also agreed to scan and post the marked sketch in the record so the prohibited areas and screening locations are unambiguous.
Commissioners cited both operational constraints and physical limitations of the parcel — including wetlands and its flag‑lot shape — in finding a hardship that would support the variance. The motion to approve, moved by a board member during deliberations and seconded by another, carried unanimously.
Board members and staff noted there is a 15‑day appeal period after the decision is published in the newspaper; staff said it will prepare the required filings and post the approved sketch as part of the record. The board also discussed how the new zoning map and recent updates to district regulations factor into future applications.
The ZBA’s approval allows the applicant to continue staging trailers while requiring on‑site buffering and limits designed to reduce visibility and neighborhood impacts. The decision does not resolve how this approval interacts with prior variances on the parcel; staff noted that legal counsel or subsequent court review may address conflicts between approvals.
