Granby Center advisory committee refines draft list of allowed uses, asks consultant to prepare public session for October

The Town of Granby Granby Center Advisory Committee reviewed revisions to a draft plan for the Granby Center on Aug. 20, focusing on which land uses should be allowed by right and which should require special permits.

Chair Mark Fiorentino opened the meeting at 7:00 p.m. and the committee unanimously approved the previous meeting’s minutes on a motion by Eric Myers, seconded by Meg Jabaily. (The minutes text includes an internal date inconsistency: the header lists July 25, 2025, while the approval language references July 30, 2025.)

The group spent the bulk of the meeting on use‑by‑use decisions for the Center Edge (CE) and Center Common (CC) zones. Several uses were listed as “no change,” including business and professional offices, banks and financial institutions, daycare and preschool, movie theaters, fueling stations for motor vehicles, government buildings and facilities, single‑family dwellings, home occupations and agriculture. Uses the committee designated as requiring a special permit in CE and CC included restaurants (limited seating and, separately, restaurants subject to section 8, 16), retail sales, personal services such as barbershops and beauty shops, museums and galleries (with a committee request that “performing arts” be separated out for further consideration), accessory printing/photography services, and utility uses. The draft was revised to separate “rental and/or repair” from general retail and to treat rental/repair as a special‑permit use.

Committee members asked the Planning & Zoning Commission to consider several follow‑up items: lot size requirements for multifamily use; whether an explicit mixed‑use percentage should be required on sites; and whether to remove the existing mixed‑use metric listed as “3.5 / 48 ft.” (the committee suggested removing that metric and footnote 3). Members also asked the commission to evaluate whether to add guidance or rules for electrical vehicle charging stations.

There were no proposed changes to the parking requirements chart, the committee recorded.

For next steps the committee directed consultant BFJ to incorporate the evening’s edits, correct typos, and produce a final draft for committee review. The committee canceled its next weekly meeting and will reconvene on Sept. 24 to try to reach consensus on zone boundaries and to work with BFJ to schedule a public session at the end of October. Committee members were asked to submit any discussion points and recommended priorities to Abby Kenyon by Sept. 16; a link to public comments and e‑mails will be added to Appendix A.

Chair Fiorentino opened the public comment period and reported no members of the public were present before closing the session. The meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m. on a motion by Martin Schwager, seconded by John Oates.

What happens next: the Planning & Zoning Commission is expected to consider lot‑size and mixed‑use requirements and other follow‑ups identified by the advisory committee; committee review of the final draft is scheduled for Sept. 24 and a public session is planned for late October.