Change to zoning regs is put on hold

SALISBURY — After a public hearing Sept. 18, the Planning and Zoning Commission passed two changes to its zoning code but put another — more controversial — amendment on hold after hearing from several residents who questioned the wisdom of proceeding with it.

First on the agenda was the consideration to increase the maximum building coverage of lots in the Light Industrial 1 zone from 15 percent to 30 percent. The change will make possible the proposed sale of the ITW building on Route 41 to the town and the Lakeville Hose Company for use as a new firehouse.

Also on the schedule was a proposed storm management plan that deals with possible drainage issues at the ITW site if the firehouse is located there, as well as possible problems related to the increase in non-permeable surfaces as a result of increasing the maximum building coverage.

Both those amendments passed unanimously with no discussion offered by audience members. But a third proposed change to explicitly allow for vertical expansion of nonconforming structures under certain conditions generated a spirited debate.

That section of the code sparked a recent lawsuit against the town from Lake Wononscopomuc resident Ann Marie Nonkin, who was present at the hearing with her two Torrington attorneys.

The code currently states, "No nonconforming building or structure shall be altered, enlarged or extended in any way that increases the area or space of that portion of the building or structure which is nonconforming." That prohibition extends to adding a second story to "that portion of a building which is nonconforming."

The current policy to allow vertical expansion is said to have been based on an opinion issued by Salisbury’s former town attorney, the late Ralph Elliott. The proposed change in the code explicitly allows for a second-story addition under certain conditions.

Mark Capecelatro, the attorney representing Nonkin neighbors Dean and Margaret Haubrich, whom Nonkin is suing along with the town, presented several letters from townspeople in support of allowing vertical expansion. P&Z Chairman Jon Higgins said letter writers included Larry Gabbe, Barbara Roth, Maura Wolf and Elyse Harney.

Several others, including Capecelatro, Twin Lakes resident Stephen Klein and Zoning Board of Appeals member Al Ginouves, argued that allowing for a second story to be built on a home on a small lot is often the only chance a middle-income family has to enlarge its living space.

"Families tend to outgrow spaces," said Capecelatro. "This is a way to help families stay in town."

But Route 44 resident Alfred Nemiroff said he thought the commission should "leave the regulations alone" and called the affordable housing angle "a canard."

"I don’t accept the opinion of a deceased lawyer," said Nemiroff. "If Salisbury becomes a New Milford strip mall, we’ll all look at 2007 as the beginning."

Nonkin attorney Bill Conte said he thought the change "would put more stress on the lakes." He recommended sending the proposal to the state Department of Environmental Protection for review. The DEP regulates all lakes in the state, including Wononscopomuc, where there are several nonconforming homes on relatively small lots.

Others pointed out inconsistencies and imprecision in the language of the proposed amendment. So the commission agreed to continue the hearing until it received more information on it. No date for the continuation of the hearing was set.