New Garden Center Approved By Southington Officials

SOUTHINGTON, CT — A local resident plans to transform his property into a sustainable garden center where sustainably grown plants, compost, and fertilizer will be for sale.

In addition, Southington resident Ryan Vassar wants to teach others about the basics of plant sustainability at his property at 1248 Meriden Waterbury Turnpike, Southington, where he wants to resurrect the site's past use as a garden center to a new one owned by him.

Last week, the Southington Planning and Zoning Commission voted 7-0 in favor of a site plan modification that, essentially, greenlighted the project.

According to consultant Brian Panico of Cole Civil & Survey, who represented Vassar at the Jan. 21 Southington PZC meeting, the site is zoned for mixed-use and is located in a commercial/industrial/business area.

"It's in a business zone with industrial users to the south, with business zoned and industrial uses, pretty much, surrounding the property," Panico said.

The last site plan approved for the property called for residential/office uses, with the amendment approved last week allowing for the return of the garden center use.

Panico said the new use will feature greenhouses, raised garden beds, bee hives, and an aquaculture pond.

After Panico's presentation, Vassar himself unveiled further details to the PZC and answered some PZC members' questions.

Vassar said garden centers have operated at the property before and he was the operator of the garden center back in 2017.

"I've actually operated the garden center out of this building in years past," Vassar said, saying he moved on to a new job in 2017 and is now looking to come back to the site as its owner. "I've always wanted to come back."

According to Vassar, the new garden center would include some of these features:

• Rainwater would be collected and reused.

• No pesticides would be used on the site.

• A "learning experience" for plant sustainability will be offered as he plans to show how these processes work.

As an example, Vassar said he would practice aquaculture and use fertilizer produced by fish and turning it back into the raised garden beds.

Vassar, who has a long career working at garden centers, said this is a sustainable source of energy along with bees.

He said he would be collecting honey, though not for retail, but, rather, for personal uses.

According to Vassar, he wants to sell organic amendments; compost, naturally produced fertilizers, "only things that are sustainable."

A pallet storage area will hold neatly bagged soil, seaweed, etc.

In addition, Vassar said there will be no smells or messes.

PZC members had some concerns about the location of the hives (with five initially proposed) to abutting property owners and fears the bees could get out and, possibly, impact nearby properties (especially for people with bee allergies).

As a result, the approved motion calls for only three hives to be located a sufficient distance away and with buffers utilized on the property borders (vegetation/fence buffers).

The motion calls for only three hives, though the PZC left room for Vassar to put in two more if Southington land-use staffers approve this in the future.

Vassar told PZC members he's excited about the opportunity of this new endeavor.

"It's important to me. I want to work where I live and be able to sustainably commute," he said.

For the minutes of the Jan. 21 Southington Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, click on this link.