A public hearing on the proposed warehouse and distribution facility at 1535 Straits Turnpike has been set for the Middlebury Planning & Zoning Commission's Thursday, 1/2 meeting at 7:00pm ET. The public hearing will be held at Shepardson Community Center (1172 Whittemore Road, Middlebury, CT), Auditorium. Members of the public will have the opportunity to deliver a short statement (maximum three minutes spoken) to the Commission and/or submit written materials to the Commission during the hearing. It is essential that all Middlebury residents opposed to this project attend Thursday's meeting - please encourage your friends and neighbors in Town to do the same.
As a reminder, the developer requires our Planning & Zoning Commission's approval to construct a truly massive trucking facility in the heart of one of Middlebury's oldest residential neighborhoods, just north of Memorial Middle School. At 171,600 square feet (780' x 220'), the warehouse building alone would cover nearly four acres, not including other built surfaces such as an access road from Straits Turnpike "suitable for tractor trailer traffic in two directions" constructed through Long Swamp Brook, loading docks for dozens of tractor trailers, and parking for more than 130 passenger vehicles. At 35 feet high, the proposed warehouse would tower over the surrounding residences, raining down light, noise, and air pollution around the clock. Obviously, an industrial facility of this type would push our local roadways well past the breaking point, rendering the Straits Turnpike / Middlebury Road intersection all but impassable due to a constant stream of tractor trailers.
Our Planning & Zoning Commission is under no obligation to grant exceptions to Middlebury's Zoning Regulations to accommodate the developer's plans and should reject the three applications that the developer has submitted.
In addition to attending the Thursday, 1/2 Planning & Zoning Commission meeting, we encourage all Middlebury residents opposed to this ill-conceived project to write an email to the Planning & Zoning Commission and the following elected officials voicing your concerns.
- Planning & Zoning Commission - pandz@middlebury-ct.org
- Edward St. John (First Selectman) - firstselectman@middlebury-ct.org
- Jennifer Mahr (Selectman) - jmahr@middlebury-ct.org
- J. Paul Vance (Selectman) - jpvance@middlebury-ct.org
Finally, please consider joining the Preserve Middlebury email listserv to receive more regular updates concerning proposed development at 124 Kelly Road and 1535 Straits Turnpike by emailing preservemiddlebury@gmail.com.
-Preserve Middlebury