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Commission denies buffer waiver; application for used‑car dealership at 122 South Main fails after heavy resident opposition
Summary
After extensive resident testimony raising traffic, safety, noise, hours and environmental concerns, the Planning & Zoning Commission denied a request to reduce the 100‑foot landscape buffer to 50 feet and subsequently recorded a decision against Shelby Real Estate LLC’s special‑use permit and site plan for a used‑car dealership at 122 South Main Street (PZ 2026‑13).
The East Windsor Planning & Zoning Commission on June 23 heard a lengthy presentation and public comment period on Shelby Real Estate LLC’s application to build a 9,600‑square‑foot building with associated parking for a used‑car dealership and repair operation at 122 South Main Street (PZ 2026‑13). After resident testimony highlighted safety and quality‑of‑life concerns, the commission voted to deny a requested waiver of the 100‑foot landscape buffer to 50 feet; the applicant’s counsel and engineer said the parcel would not be buildable without the waiver. Following the buffer denial, the motion to approve the special permit and site plan failed.
Engineer Timothy of J.R. Russo & Associates presented a revised plan that added perimeter trees, LED building‑mounted fixtures with a photometric plan intended to eliminate light spill onto neighboring properties, a drainage design with an infiltration basin sized to meet Connecticut stormwater standards, and internal parking and maneuvering dimensions intended to meet zoning section 601.5 for automotive uses. He reiterated that service activities would occur inside the building and suggested conditions (for example, requiring noisy activities to be conducted with bay doors closed) to limit noise.
More than a dozen neighbors from adjacent Meadow View and other residential areas testified in opposition. Speakers cited close proximity (some decks and windows 31–50 feet from the proposed property line), vehicle carrier traffic on Route 5 that can block sight lines, concerns about hours of operation and tenants renting bays with unknown hours and practices, possible contamination from fluids entering an on‑site basin and nearby detention features, persistent backup alarm noise during construction and equipment deliveries, and overall cumulative impacts of additional dealerships along Route 5. Several residents questioned enforcement mechanisms for hours and noise and argued that a 50‑foot buffer with vehicle display within the buffer would be insufficient mitigation.
Commission discussion focused on the buffer waiver, enforceability of operating‑hour conditions, tenant uses for rental bays, and fire/deputy marshal comments about parking. The motion to grant the 50‑foot buffer waiver was seconded but the chair called for a vote; the waiver was not granted. The transcript records the commission then taking a vote on the main application; the motion to approve the special permit and site plan was defeated (recorded in the minutes as opposed/unanimous against). The applicant may choose to revise the plan in light of the buffer requirement or pursue other options.
