Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Zoning Text Amendment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission adopts text amendment allowing accessory parking on abutting lots in Sabre Point District
Summary
Old Saybrook commissioners approved a zoning text amendment (§37.10.17) to permit off‑street accessory parking to be located on an abutting lot within 100 feet, with safeguards including cross‑easements and council review; the vote was unanimous.
The Zoning Commission voted 5–0 on July 20 to amend Old Saybrook’s Sabre Point zoning regulation §37.10.17 to allow accessory off‑street parking to serve a permitted use from an abutting lot within 100 feet, with the lot treated as part of the permitted use for structure coverage and subject to required easements and review.
Attorney David Royston, representing the petitioner, told commissioners the amendment addresses a specific operational need at properties in the Sabre Point district where septic systems and parking currently overlap multiple lots. Royston said the proposed text tightens the existing accessory‑parking language, adds a same‑district requirement in some cases, and requires legal instruments (cross‑easements and legal review) so the parking cannot be sold off independently.
Commissioners asked whether the amendment could inadvertently remove state (DEEP/DPH/CRAD) review or create enforcement gaps; Royston and staff said state environmental reviews still apply and the local text amendment would enable the property owner to pursue necessary septic reconfiguration. The commission noted that when the lot division occurs, any special exception and cross‑easements would return to the commission for review. The motion to approve included direction that any instruments effectuating the change be reviewed by commission counsel before recording.
