East Hartford’s Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to approve Tesla’s application to build an automotive service center, but potential buyers still will need to go out of state to purchase the electric cars and parts.
After a public hearing in which all spoke in favor of the project, the PZC voted ito revoke a permit approved in April and approve a new permit to build on the same lot at 300 Connecticut Blvd.
Differences between the two applications include specifying under the new permit that the facility would not sell any new or used vehicles. The initial permit described the project as an “electric car showroom and service center,” while the new permit refers to it as an “automotive service center facility.”
Thomas Rechen, a lawyer with McCarter and English representing Tesla, said the facility described in the new permit application would under no circumstances sell vehicles, parts, or any other products and would only service vehicles.
“I will not walk out with brake parts in hand,” Rechon said.
The new permit, filed by East Hartford, CT (300 Connecticut) LLC, describes uses of the facility including servicing of cars as well as “delivery and indoor storage of new and pre-owned automobiles, energy products and offerings, and related parts and accessories.”
Michael Bula, CFO of Manchester-based Marcus Communications, said at the public hearing that he and some of his employees are Tesla owners who would like to have their vehicles serviced nearby. He said he was shocked none of the local automotive dealers who have fervently opposed Tesla’s move into Connecticut were at the public hearing, considering their aggressive lobbying of the legislature and the lawsuit they filed opposing Tesla.
“You know you’re fighting a losing fight when you’re using legislation to block them,” Bula said of the automotive dealers’ efforts.
Town Planner Jeffrey Cormier said the new application indicates that the facility would primarily be a service center, rather than a showroom, and Tesla has operated a similar service facility in Milford for years.
“I never heard anything about that one, so if they’re going to do the same thing here, it seems like the state allows them to lease down there and they allow them to service vehicles, so it’s a good redevelopment of the site,” Cormier said.
Hoffman Auto Group filed a lawsuit against InSite Development Services, the original filing entity of the first permit, in June. Hoffman alleged that proper procedures were not followed when the PZC approved InSite’s special-use permit application. The issue cited was an incident in March where InSite was temporarily involuntarily dissolved by the state of Illinois for missing a payment of a fee.
Under current state law, licensed motor vehicle manufacturers are prohibited from selling directly to consumers. Over the past few years, there have been pushes for bills that would permit direct sales from car manufacturers, particularly for electric cars. Automotive dealers, notably Hoffman Auto Group, have regularly lobbied against these bills, claiming selling direct to customers would put numerous jobs at risk in addition to damaging the automobile market by killing competitive pricing.
“We are disappointed that East Hartford Planning and Zoning relied more on the words of Tesla’s lawyers and public relations firm than they did on the text of the application they approved which clearly allows for the ‘delivery and indoor storage of new and pre-owned automobiles,’ both unnecessary in a so-called service facility,” Hoffman Auto Group said in a statement. “The Hoffman family of 10 auto dealerships along with the Connecticut Automotive Retailers Association (CARA) representing more than 250 other dealers statewide remain committed to defending this state’s pro-consumer franchise system which fosters healthy competition on a level playing field and will continue to resist global manufacturers from illegally entering our state in a way that would deprive local consumers of many of the protections they currently enjoy.”
Bula said in addition to Tesla, other electric car manufacturers, namely Lucid Motors and Rivian, are looking to sell in Connecticut.
Will Cross, a Tesla owner and moderator of the Facebook group Tesla Owners Connecticut, said he would like to see more people driving electric in Connecticut, but the difficulty of purchasing from some manufacturers and a lack of repair centers dissuade consumers. He said living in Union, the closest place to purchase a Tesla is Mount Kisco, New York, and the nearest Tesla service center is a toss-up between Milford, Boston and Warwick, Rhode Island.
“Just the convenience of East Hartford … you might get more people with electric vehicles” coming into town, Cross said.
Cross said in addition to the distance, the Milford service center has always been backed up on appointments, with wait times of over two weeks to get an appointment. An additional service center would make it easier for owners to have their cars fixed in-state.
This story has been edited by the Hartford Business Journal to include a responding statement from Hoffman Auto Group.
