Torrington P&Z closes public hearing on proposed East Main gas station, tables decision to Aug. 19

The Torrington Planning and Zoning Commission on July 15 closed the public hearing on special exception SE‑26‑1 and site plan 1596 for a proposed gasoline sales facility and retail building at 472–486 East Main Street and tabled deliberation and a decision until the commission’s Aug. 19 meeting.

Applicant James DeMeo, a licensed professional engineer, told the commission the most recent plan set reflects changes requested by staff and the commission, including the removal of one dispenser so the fueling canopy now shows four dispensers and the addition of an air compressor and a painted loading/box‑truck area. He said lighting will be dark‑sky compliant and limited to canopy and down‑lit wall mounts. “We removed 1 of the dispensers as requested, so now we’re down to 4,” DeMeo said. He added that a detailed structural analysis of an on‑site stone culvert will follow site approval if necessary, and that the project’s stormwater system will route runoff to a downstream hydrodynamic separator and an underground detention system.

City planner Jeremy Leifer walked the commission through the application record and flagged unresolved items staff wants in the file before deliberation: clarification about how the traffic impact study reflects the revised fueling configuration, engineered profiles and analysis for the 4x5 stone culvert and associated catch basin, confirmation of the Zoning Board of Appeals certificate for the previously granted impervious‑coverage variance, and formal Connecticut DOT approval for a redesigned driveway and proposed traffic signal. Leifer also noted the record includes earlier plan versions that showed many more pumps and a larger retail building; the current plan revisions reduce the pump configuration and eliminate the previously proposed car wash.

Residents who spoke at the public hearing urged caution. Local engineer Alan Borghese said his experience designing gas stations led him to conclude the on‑site circulation and access were “very crowded” and that left turns off Lower East Main Street present difficulty; he recommended denial. Rebecca Connors, who lives on Hillside Avenue, asked whether the car wash had actually been removed from submitted paperwork and pressed the applicant on door swing clearances, dumpster placement, landscaping materials and the risk that pump positions counted as parking could lead to vehicles queuing onto East Main Street. Lillian Bussey, a high‑school staff member, said a 2024 DOT report cited in the record did not account for school‑related traffic created by new school construction in 2025 and urged the commission to factor that into any traffic analysis.

DeMeo told the commission he had not heard anything in the hearing that would be an absolute bar to approval but acknowledged the outstanding technical questions, which staff and commissioners said require time to evaluate. After discussion, the commission voted to close the public hearing and table deliberations and a decision to its Aug. 19 meeting to allow staff and the applicant to provide the requested documentation and to secure DOT signoff.

What happens next: the commission asked staff to obtain final engineering evidence on the culvert and stormwater connections, confirm the status of the previously granted ZBA variance, and require written DOT approval for the new signal and curb modifications as conditions before issuing zoning or grading permits.