The university is planning 225 beds of undergraduate housing, replacing existing dorms and providing a more accessible campus environment.
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Middletown planning officials will hear more public comment this week on a request by Wesleyan University to change a portion of the city’s zoning to allow the school to redevelop its downtown student housing.
Wesleyan has submitted a petition to amend the current downtown village district (DVD) zoning for 18 university-owned properties on about 11 acres on Church, High and William streets.
The university says it is planning a development to provide 225 beds of undergraduate housing in the area, replacing and updating existing housing and providing a more accessible campus environment.
The current zoning restrictions limit the height of buildings to three stories or 36 feet. The zoning change that Wesleyan has requested — to an institutional development zone — would permit five stories or 75 feet.
Last month, an initial public hearing attracted more than 30 speakers in opposition to the plan, including Wesleyan faculty and students.
Molly Salafia, an architect and former member of the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission, submitted written testimony urging the commission to reject the request, saying she’s concerned that a zoning change would allow Wesleyan to construct high-rise buildings out of character with the downtown streetscape.
“There are plenty of options that work and keep the map as is,” Salafia writes, “such as building dorms in the style, character and scale of buildings within the DVD.”
Renée Tribert, of the Middlesex County Historical Society and Preservation Connecticut, also asked for the request to be denied, citing concerns over high-rise construction, and saying the changes would set a precedent for potential future losses to the downtown village district.
“Village District zoning is one of the city’s strongest tools for preserving cultural resources,” she wrote.
Catherine Johnson, a Middletown-based architect and town planner, said in her testimony that it should be possible for Wesleyan to build the 225-bed accommodation it is seeking without a zone change.
She also urges the commission to consider the impact of Wesleyan acquiring more property downtown, removing it from private ownership.
“In terms of diversity and sustainability we actually need more people of means living here,” her testimony says.
At the July 22nd meeting, the commission voted to continue public discussion at the August 26th meeting.
