East Lyme Zoning Commission Says "No" To Affordable Housing In Light Industrial Zone

Last night, East Lyme Zoning Commission rejected a proposal for an affordable housing development that JAG Capital Drive LLC had hoped to build on land it owns in an area off West Main Street/Capital Drive in East Lyme near the Old Lyme border.

The commissioners had no issue with the development itself, which included a well thought-out site plan for 69 residential units linked by hiking trails. Indeed, they lauded it as "incredibly well-designed" and "attractive." The issue was the location.

A large number of neighbors turned out at a public hearing on the issue to speak against the proposed zone change. All of them own businesses that are currently located in the industrial zone and a number of them testified that they use or store toxic and potentially combustible chemicals. That fact, combined with the amount of truck traffic coming in and out of the industrial park on a daily basis, doesn't make the area a good fit for a residential neighborhood, they said.

East Lyme Planning Commission had arrived at a similar conclusion, stating in a letter to the Zoning Commission that although the town both wants and needs more affordable housing, establishing such a development in the town's light industrial zone was inconsistent with East Lyme's long-term Plan of Development. Currently, just one percent of East Lyme is zoned for light-industrial use. 

In the end, the commissioners agreed. 

The Reasons for the Denial

At the last Zoning meeting, commission member Norman Peck pointed out that if the situation was reversed and any one of the existing businesses was proposing to set up shop next to a residential community, "the neighborhood would be up in arms." 

Already, he noted, the commission receives regular complaints from homeowners whose properties are near existing industrial zones about bright lights or loud noise. A proposal to establish a residential housing development just 40 feet from a manufacturing company that runs three shifts a day and uses potent chemicals that could pose a potential health hazard in the event of an industrial accident, Peck said, would seem to invite yet more complaints from new neighbors. 

"[The businesses] are scared to death that they would be stifled by residents," Peck said. "Why should someone not be able to work 24/7 in an industrial zone? I'm very much opposed to affordable housing in this particular location."

"The information from businesses in that industrial park was rather compelling for me," agreed Commissioner Matthew Walker. "What is paramount are issues relating to public safety."

"This is heavy light industry. I don't think that's worth sacrificing," added Zoning Commission Chairman Marc Salerno. "I think it's important that we provide zones for this that don't affect or offend residents."

A Hard Decision

Town zoning laws prohibit residential housing in a light industrial zone for just those reasons. But because this proposal is for affordable housing, which state law has deemed exempt from most town zoning regulations, the Commission had to think long and hard before it rejected the proposal.

In a motion drafted by the town's attorney, the Zoning Commission unanimously rejected JAG Capital Drive LLC's application for the following reasons. 

"The purpose of this district is to provide for industrial and commercial uses in an open setting that will not have objectionable influences on adjacent residential and commercial districts," the motion read. "The Commission finds that residential uses are not permitted in the LI [Light Industrial] zoning district."