Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Zoning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Zoning commission rezones 44 Old Ridgebury Road to 'RO' as transitional option for office/medical uses
Summary
The commission approved changing 44 Old Ridgebury Road from RMF4 to RO (residential-office), a move applicants and staff said will legalize existing nonconforming office space and allow future office or limited medical uses subject to special-permit review, while aiming to reduce future residential/industrial conflicts.
The Zoning Commission voted 8–0 on July 22 to rezone an approximately 8-acre property at 44 Old Ridgebury Road from RMF4 multifamily to RO (residential-office), a transition district intended to allow office and community services while limiting potential industrial encroachment near multifamily neighborhoods.
Director Waleed Al Bakri explained the site’s history: the parcel was formerly IL40, was rezoned in 2010 to RMF4 with the expectation of residential conversion that never materialized, and currently houses an underoccupied office building (about 50% occupied). He said the RO designation provides a context-sensitive buffer between adjacent residential areas and nearby industrial parcels.
Attorney Charles Lichtenauer, representing the property owner, said the RO change is intended to stabilize occupancy by permitting offices and low-impact medical tenants (which require special-permit review). “We thought IL40 would bring incompatibility; RO provides a transition and allows the owner to fill vacant space with compatible uses,” Lichtenauer said.
Speakers at the hearing included an adjacent industrial property owner who supported the change to reduce vacancy, and council members who urged caution about zoning creep. Several commissioners and councilors voiced concern that new allowances could be used in the future to request variances or further conversions, and sought assurance that medical or other sensitive uses would require special-exception public review. Lichtenauer and staff confirmed such uses would require special-permit review and additional public hearings.
Commissioner Botello moved to approve, citing consistency with the POCD’s goals of land-use compatibility and environmental stewardship. The motion carried 8–0 (Commissioner Bennett not voting). The RO change does not itself permit construction of new apartments; conversions or density changes would require subsequent approvals such as variances or special permits and site-plan review.
