Public hearing seeks to close holes in zoning regs

NORTH CANAAN — A public hearing will be held by the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) Thursday, July 16, at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall.

The subject is changes to the table of uses. It currently specifies dozens of potential land uses, and under what conditions each is allowed in zones that range from residential/agricultural to business and industrial, as well as a mix of uses in a central business zone. Generally, uses are either allowed outright, or need a special permit. The latter requires a public hearing and approval by P&Z.

The goal, as recommended by Zoning Enforcement Officer Karl Nilsen, is regulations that have fewer general standards and require special permitting for most proposed uses. That gives the commission a chance to look not only at specifics of a use, but also at how a use will impact the surrounding area.

It will also close what Nilsen sees as a glaring loophole. He proposed the changes last year, after the town lost a court case that addressed a landscape contractor running his business from a house in the center of town in a residential neighborhood. He was storing large equipment and processing firewood there (and continues to do so). There were numerous complaints from neighbors, and safety concerns raised by the resident state trooper.

P&Z sought to stop the activities, claiming a special permit was needed but not sought by the business owner. A lawsuit followed and the judge ruled that because “landscape contractor� was not specifically addressed in zoning regulations, while other uses were, P&Z could not require a permit.

Some of the broader uses that would be most affected by the change are accessory apartments, cottage industries and home-based occupations.

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