Town officials in West Hartford will take a close look at the town’s zoning regulations during a nine-month moratorium on development that might negatively affect transit-oriented development.
West Hartford’s Town Council last month unanimously approved a moratorium on the use of land in its New Park Avenue corridor (along the CTFastrak busway) that could be detrimental to future transit-oriented development projects.Â
The moratorium will allow town officials to figure out whether they have to change any zoning regulations to encourage development along the busway, Town Planner Todd Dumais said.
“This will allow us to take a strategic look at the zoning process,” Dumais said.
West Hartford has seen an uptick in new businesses opening in the area, which is known as the “design district,” town Economic Development Coordinator Kristen Gorski said. Additionally, mixed-use apartment development at 616 New Park Ave. and an upcoming housing development at 540 New Park Ave. have been complimentary to the town’s transit-oriented development effort.
“The moratorium coupled with a collaborative stakeholder engagement process are the next steps in several years of TOD planning in this area,” Gorski said.
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