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Wethersfield planning panel approves optometry clinic at 860–862 Silstein Highway
Summary
The Wethersfield Planning & Zoning Commission voted June 2 to approve a change of use for 860–862 Silstein Highway, allowing Clara Vision Advanced Eye Care to convert one unit to an optometry office; approval requires extension of an existing 19-space Eversource parking license and a sign permit.
The Wethersfield Planning and Zoning Commission on June 2 approved application 2235-26 to convert 860 into a 7,000-square-foot optometry office under Clara Vision Advanced Eye Care while leaving unit 862 available for future medical use.
At the meeting the applicant, who gave the last name Xu, told commissioners the building was renovated in 2015 and that the site currently provides 25 on-site parking spaces plus a 19-space licensed arrangement with Eversource, for a total of 44 spaces. Xu said that total meets the parking requirement for the proposed medical use and that Eversource had indicated willingness to extend the license if the site plan is approved.
Town staff told the commission they reviewed the existing site plan and had no outstanding concerns about paving, drainage, landscaping or lighting; staff noted the applicant will inherit the 2015 site plan as the governing document for those items and that a separate sign permit would be required to reface the building sign.
Commissioners asked about staffing and services. Xu said the office would be staffed by one optometrist, one technician and two opticians; when a commissioner asked whether the practice would include physicians with medical doctor (MD) credentials, Xu confirmed the services would be optometry (non-MD primary eye care) and eyewear sales.
Commissioner Rich Roberts moved to approve the application as submitted; a second was given, the commission asked that the Eversource parking license be extended as a condition, and Xu agreed. The commission conducted a vocal roll call; the motion passed and the application was approved.
The approval is subject to the applicant securing the extended Eversource parking license as a condition of approval and obtaining any necessary sign permits before installing new signage. The applicant was advised to file the required permit application for sign work and to proceed with the license extension with Eversource.
The commission did not record individual named roll-call votes in the transcript. The applicant and staff were present to answer follow-up logistics and permitting questions after the vote.
