Some Residents Oppose Proposed Lawton Road Development Access

Several area residents don't want to see a driveway from Lawton Road into a development planned for property at the road's intersection with Route 44.

Although it was not a public hearing, nearly 20 residents came to the Planning Commission on Monday night to hear more about a proposal by Canton 44 LLC and Konover Development Corp. to bring in a pharmacy to anchor development at the corner.

Neighbors seem most concerned about a proposed driveway from Lawton Road, and many said it would cause further congestion on Lawton, Washburn and other nearby roads.

“Washburn is already overburdened by fast traffic and large commercial trucks,” said Jean Bouchard, who lives on the corner of Lawton and Washburn roads.

Developers say, however, that road changes will actually improve traffic circulation.

Konover already has approvals for development at the site but has also applied for a zoning regulation and master plan amendment. The Zoning Commission will consider the changes at the site but the Planning Commission has been charged with looking at its consistency with the Plan of Conservation and Development, which outlines goals for the town, such as increasing its economic base while retaining the town’s “small-town atmosphere and natural environment.”

The site is in an Albany Turnpike Gateway-2 District, which sets parameters for the site based on the master plan for it.

The Plan of Conservation and Development also mentions the district idea, which largely came after Konover’s much-maligned plan for a Target at the corner more than 10 years ago.

“It is hoped that the new Albany Turnpike Gateway District can be utilized to maximize the development potential of this area while minimizing its impact on the surrounding neighborhood,” one part of the plan reads.

Although it was just one item on the Planning Commission’s agenda Monday, the developers’ presentation and subsequent commission discussion took nearly two hours.

Many of the consultants in the project appeared at the commission meeting Monday to briefly outline the proposal and speak to the commission’s role at this point.

Attorney Robin Messier Pearson of Shipman, Sosensky and Marks LLC of Farmington, urged the commission to consider only the consistency with the Plan of Conservation and Development and briefly talked about the changes in the plan, which include spreading development over three smaller areas instead of two and adding the access to Lawton Road. The previous plan called for emergency access only to Lawton Road.

Pearson also reiterated the developer’s point that the pharmacy would be a neighborhood draw.

“The proposal you are considering tonight is intended to serve a local community,” she said.

Vahid Karimi, director of Traffic Engineering and Transportation Systems for Vanasse Hangen Brustlin,  said many aspects of the plan would improve traffic in the area. For example, the plan calls for the widening of Lawton Road with a left turn lane into the site and additional lanes onto Route 44, he said. In addition, developers are recommending Lawton Road have an exclusive green cycle and cue times on the road will be shorter, he said.

The plan also calls for lengthening the right-turn only lane from Route 44 West to Lawton Road from 100 to 500 feet, he said. Those changes, along with others, will improve the traffic situation, he said.

Landscape Architect Phil Doyle also addressed the commission and said spreading out the buildings, breaking up parking areas and other measures made the plan less intrusive than the currently approved one.

Commission members debated how to approach the issue and Town Planner Neil Pade did tell them they could give a negative referral, a positive one or even one that was generally positive but included some areas of concern.

Pade, for example, told commissioners the town has hired its own traffic consultant to access any impact on the area and review the developers’ findings.

Commission members debated their scope and how traffic played into that.

Some members, such as Bruce Mortimer asked Pade if the traffic study being done for the town could be finished for the commission’s next meeting.  He also said it was a decision that required more time and said he wanted to see some of the previous discussion on the last proposal.

Pade said he did not oppose taking the time but did fear that the commission would get too involved in the details of the traffic study, which is really the role of the Zoning Commission.

Pade also said he will have to check with the engineer on the timing of the report and how to manage the information so all parties have ample time to respond to the findings.

Chairwoman Rosemary Aldridge said the commission had to narrow its focus and consider the previous approval. She and many others agreed that the current proposal seems better in many ways than the approved one.

“The question comes down to allowing the driveway on Lawton Road and what kind of impact that will have on the character of the town,” Aldridge said.

The commission voted to continue the matter to its next meeting March 7 or at a scheduled special meeting. If the Planning Commission does not report to the Zoning Commission in time for its March 16 public hearing, it is considered a positive referral.

Despite maps, photos and developers’ assertions about the traffic, many residents at the meeting remain unconvinced.

Lawton Road resident Bob Feller said the changes will affect the neighborhood and said the company is simply dressing up a plan to bolster its bottom line.

“Any time you give them the foot in the door, the scope creeps further and further,” he said.

His wife, Abby Feller, said she also feels the additional light on Route 44 – between the Shoppes and Lawton Road – will also make matters worse.

“People get aggravated as it is on 44,” said Abby Feller.

At previous meetings, Konover has said the light has state approval and timing will be changed so traffic will not back up at that point.

Margaret Colavecchio, one of many area residents who wrote a letter to the town about the issue said the Lawton Road access will cause those in Simsbury and West Simsbury to “cut over” on the local roads, rather than travel on Route 44.

Commercial trucks already use Lawton and Washburn as a “mini Route 44 by-pass,” to Bushy Hill Road in Simsbury, she wrote. This will make it worse, she said.