An application seeking to change a residentially zoned parcel to an industrial zone for an unidentified manufacturer received a positive recommendation Monday from the Bristol Planning Commission.
During a special meeting held Monday night, the commission voted 3-2 to positively refer the application to the Zoning Commission. The positive referral is a binding recommendation.
The application was referred to the Planning Commission by the zoning board. Attorney James Ziogas, representing the applicant and land owner, said the intent is to create one large, industrially zoned parcel that could be developed by a manufacturer he did not identify.
“We’ve got a client who’s interested in this property, but they want the ability, of course, to utilize the entire site,” Ziogas said.
The vacant, wooded 8.6 acres is a section of a larger 20.7-acre property owned by attorney Stephan O. Allaire. The parcel, zoned R-40 for residential development, is located north of three single-family homes on Matthews Street and sits between two parcels also owned by Allaire that are zoned IP-3, an industrial development zone.
The two existing industrially zoned parcels include one that is also 8.6 acres and has frontage on Clark Avenue but also has a small section that fronts on Matthews Street. The other is 3.5 acres and has frontage on Minor Street.
Both Ziogas and City Planner Robert Flanagan said the two different zones for the property have existed since the mid-1970s.
R-40 allows low-density, single-family residential development with a minimum lot size of 40,000 square feet.
“While the IP-3 parcels have direct access to Minor Road and Clark Avenue, the R-40 parcel has no access to a city street,” the application states. “In addition, the R-40 parcel is bisected by a railroad that would better serve an industrial use rather than create a noise nuisance for residential uses.”
In addition to the railroad that cuts through the property, there is also a significant right-of-way for Eversource that runs along the western edge of the parcel.
Flanagan said a recent update of wetlands areas in the city identified significant wetlands on the property. He raised concerns about how that property could be developed for industrial use.
Ziogas said that if the zone change is approved, the entire property would be surveyed to identify the full extent of any wetlands.
Commission members who voted to approve the positive referral said the train tracks through the parcel would make it difficult to develop residential homes on the property.
The Zoning Commission is tentatively scheduled to conduct a public hearing on the application on Jan. 12.
