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Planning commission issues negative referral on Salem Plaza petition to allow limited self‑storage
Summary
Danbury planning staff presented a petition by Salem Plaza LLC to amend CG‑20 zoning to allow limited internal self‑storage (up to 15% of floor area) on lots of at least 5 acres; commissioners voted 3‑0 to send a negative referral to City Council, citing recent policy changes and concerns about spot zoning.
The Danbury Planning Commission voted unanimously on Jan. 7 to forward a negative referral to City Council on a petition by Salem Plaza LLC to amend the CG‑20 zoning district to allow limited self‑storage inside existing warehouse buildings.
Waleed, a city planning staff member, explained the petition would permit interior self‑storage uses only in existing warehouse buildings on lots of at least 5 acres, limited to a maximum of 15% of the building’s floor area, with surface storage prohibited and the storage area required to be at least 240 feet from an entrance. The amendment would also include a provision preventing future variances for these conditions. "One very important component is the surface storage piece will not be visible from outside because it has to be inside at a minimum 240 feet away from the entrance," Waleed said.
Why it mattered: Waleed told the commission staff analysis found the amendment would currently apply to a single site (the applicant’s Salem Plaza property). Commissioners nonetheless raised broader policy concerns. Chair Arnold E. Fonaldi Jr. said the proposal felt counterintuitive after a recent zoning change intended to limit self‑storage elsewhere: "It just seems counterintuitive that we would change the regs just a few months ago out of a concern of an overabundance of self storage, and then a short time thereafter, change the regs to allow more self storage," he said. Commissioner Helen Hofstadter and others warned the text change could amount to spot zoning that reverses the city’s recent approach to self‑storage.
Commissioner Helen Hofstadter moved a negative referral, citing that the petition reverses recent zoning changes and may be inconsistent with the Plan of Conservation and Development; Bob Kyokyo seconded the motion. The commission approved the negative referral by voice vote, 3‑0. The zoning commission hearing on the petition is scheduled for Jan. 27, 2026, per the application notice.
What was not decided: The commission’s negative referral sends the petition and staff analysis to City Council; it is not a final zoning decision. Staff and commissioners noted the change was intended to be narrowly tailored and that the applicant said it had few alternatives to generate tenant interest in portions of a deep warehouse building.
