East Haven officials outline zoning overlays to encourage mixed-use development

Planning and Zoning Administrator Joe Budrow told the Town of East Haven Economic Development meeting on Feb. 12 that the town will use its Plan of Conservation and Development to create overlay zoning districts aimed at encouraging mixed-use development along key corridors.

"You get past the dealership (Bobby Crabtee) and now you get these, like 80-foot lots that are 500 feet deep all in a row," Budrow said, describing inconsistent lot patterns that complicate zoning updates and development. He said the town's POCD, adopted around 2018, is due for revision in about a year and that some base-zone consistency fixes could be completed "four or five months" after work begins.

Budrow identified six business development districts in the POCD and singled out Foxon Road and the west side of Main Street as priorities. He said Foxon Road currently looks like a "quilt" of commercial and residential parcels and that the town should create a consistent commercial base zone there. On Main Street, Budrow recommended an overlay district that would set standards for mixed-use projects '1 retail or restaurants on the street level with apartments above '1 rather than relying on ad-hoc ZBA approvals.

"One day there will be an overlay district," Budrow said, describing an overlay as a regulatory layer that allows uses and densities not permitted by the base zone so long as applicants meet the overlay standards.

Economic Development Director Rich Coppola said he recently met with a builder interested in redeveloping the Rite Aid site on Main Street; the builder considered a mix of retail and apartments but ultimately decided not to pursue the project. Coppola said the town is cautious about losing commercial frontage: any conversion of a prominent retail site to housing would need to preserve street-level retail via mixed-use design, Budrow said.

Coppola also reported activity in Foxon, including progress at the former Foxon Country House site and a local purchase of the former Foxon Road Rite Aid that could allow multiple businesses to co-locate. Budrow added that the town has updated its use tables in the past year to make regulations clearer and more business-friendly.

The exchange also touched on state housing rules. Budrow said recent Connecticut housing laws increase pressure from developers and can conflict with local open-space goals. Commissioner Dave Gersz urged the economic development office to step up outreach to make prospective applicants aware that town planning and building staff are willing to work with them.

Town staff said the next steps include prioritizing POCD tasks using the POCD activity matrix, drafting base-zone fixes for corridors such as Foxon Road, and developing overlay standards for Main Street and Hemingway Avenue. The commission did not take formal legislative action at the meeting; Budrow said the timeline for some zoning fixes could be a matter of months once work begins.