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Planning director proposes zoning changes to protect industrial land, tighten rules on large medical offices
Summary
Danbury planning staff presented a package of zoning amendments that would limit future non‑industrial uses in industrial districts, distinguish large medical offices for special exceptions, ban certain future uses in the CA80 corridor, and replace an outdated trip‑generation table with the ITE manual; the commission issued a positive referral to the Oct. 14 public hearing.
Walid Al Bakri, Danbury planning director, outlined a multi‑part proposal at the Planning Commission’s Sept. 17 meeting to revise the city’s zoning regulations in order to preserve industrial land and modernize technical standards.
Al Bakri told commissioners the package separates small and large medical offices and would keep large medical facilities — which he said are “more than 5,000 square feet” — subject to special exceptions. He also proposed prohibiting certain future uses in the CA80 corridor, including self‑storage, truck terminals and warehouses, while allowing existing operations to continue and expand.
The proposal would also narrow what is allowed in industrial districts so that banks, hotels, continuing‑care facilities and business or professional offices are not permitted uses in industrial land. “We are already losing [industrial land] by allowing such uses in industrial land,” Al Bakri said, arguing the changes would help retain parcels for industrial uses.
Al Bakri said the zoning package addresses an outdated trip‑generation table in the city’s regulations that appears to be decades old. “All the calculation of trips would be based on the Institute of Transportation Engineering Manual,” he said, adding that the ITE manual is a widely used standard and would bring the city’s practice in line with neighboring communities.
Commissioners asked whether the proposed changes alter the overall share of industrial vs. commercial zoning; Al Bakri said the amendments do not change acreage percentages but change what is permitted to prevent further loss of industrial uses. Commissioners also asked if traffic engineers the city typically works with support the switch to ITE; Al Bakri said he had consulted local and outside engineers and described ITE as a “golden standard.”
After discussion, a commissioner moved and the commission voted to forward a positive referral to the city council and to schedule a public hearing. The packet, as presented, will proceed to the Oct. 14 public hearing for broader public comment and formal review by the council.
Next steps: the zoning amendment package will be publicly noticed for the Oct. 14 hearing and remain subject to further revision based on public comment and city council input.
