The South Windsor Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a public hearing on Tuesday on a proposal to allow electric car dealerships in the Buckland Road Gateway Zone.
The hearing will be at 7 p.m. in Town Hall.
The proposed text amendment, filed by Drake Motor Partners CT LLC, would allow for the “sale of new and pre-owned automobiles.” This would include test drives, delivery, and storage, as well as vehicle maintenance and the sale of “energy products and solar products, parts, and accessories.”
The application is only for a text amendment, and no relevant site plan applications have been filed as of yet. The applicant lists an address in Denver.
The amendment would explicitly allow vehicles that are “exclusively electric, do not have fuel tanks, do not use oil, and do not have internal combustion engines.”
Existing zoning regulations in the Buckland Road Gateway Zone, which includes Evergreen Walk and some surrounding properties, prohibit “automotive, boat, recreational, vehicle, truck, and similar sales.”
As reported in the Journal Inquirer in June, a previous version of the application listed the project name as “Tesla Sales and Service (Text Amendment)” and the location as 100 Cedar Ave., which houses the former Esporta Fitness, previously known as LA Fitness.
The application was later revised to list the project name as “Electric Vehicle Sales and Service,” with no location specified.
Last year, the East Hartford Planning and Zoning Commission approved two separate special-use permits for a proposed Tesla facility, but revoked both amid litigation against the town from Hoffman Auto Group.
The first East Hartford permit for a Tesla facility described it as an “electric car showroom and service center.” PZC members approved the permit in April 2021, and Hoffman filed a lawsuit in June 2021.
The company claimed that the application, which specifically mentioned automobile sales, violated Connecticut and municipal law regarding direct sale of vehicles by manufacturers.
East Hartford revoked the permit in August 2021, and approved a second permit for the site the same month. The second application described the proposed facility as a service center and delivery point for new and pre-owned automobiles.
Hoffman then filed a second lawsuit, claiming that the applicants used misinformation to obtain the special-use permit. The town revoked the second permit in March 2022, and Hoffman withdrew both of its lawsuits shortly afterward.
