A proposal to develop three warehouses on 47 acres on Barnes Road in Wallingford was rejected Monday night by the Planning & Zoning Commission.
A proposal to develop three warehouses on 47 acres on Barnes Road in Wallingford was rejected Monday night by the Planning & Zoning Commission.
The project sought to develop the warehouses on combined properties at 1000, 1020, 1030, 1044 and 1080 Barnes Road, all of which are owned by Midwood Management Corp.
Midwood Management sought a special permit to construct three buildings in three phases — two 157,000-square-foot warehouses and a 100,000-square-foot warehouse. The buildings would be located close to Route 68, just over a mile east of Exit 15 of Interstate 91.
Monday night, the commission completed and closed a public hearing that had opened in June and had been continued three times.
After closing the hearing, the commission rejected a motion to approve the project by a 3-2 vote, with Commissioner Jeffrey Kohan and alternates Bryan Rivard and Joseph Sanders voting against approval. Chairman Jim Seichter and Commissioner James Fitzsimmons voted to approve.
A significant audience of town residents applauded and cheered when Sanders cast the deciding no vote.
Commission members voting against the project cited concerns about truck traffic and the impact on surrounding residential neighborhoods and the nearby North Farms Reservoir, which serves as a summer breeding area for eagles and ospreys.
Commissioners also were concerned that the developers did not yet have tenants for the warehouses, making it difficult to know what might be stored in them and how that might affect traffic to and from the buildings.
