Over objections, Bloomfield approves warehouse
Tractor trailers using residential roads to reach 522,000-square-foot facility has some concerned
A series of Bloomfield homeowners warned of worsening traffic, but the town’s planning and zoning commission on Thursday night approved a mega-warehouse for West Dudley Town Road.
Missouri-based NorthPoint Development will be able to build a roughly 522,000-square-foot warehouse on a 55-acre parcel, commissioners decided by a 4-1 vote.
The commission agreed the controversial proposal was difficult to decide on, particularly because of the neighborhood opposition.
“I have mixed emotions about this,” Commissioner Dwight Bolton said before the vote. “I’m torn, I’m not certain this is the right thing for the town.”
Commission Kevin Hussain agreed, saying “I’m pro-business, I care about the environment, it’s going to be a tough decision.”
Commissioner Michele Adams praised NorthPoint for addressing previous concerns from town staff and residents, and said the project would make the property look more attractive. The tract is an open field along the east side of West Dudley Town Road that has been used for years to store construction equipment.
“This is a tremendous beautification of the site from the way it looks now,” Adams said.
Neighbors said they feared dozens of tractor trailers a day might use residential roads such as Filley Street to reach I-91 or I-291, which connects to I-84. Some were concerned that trucks might use Filley to cut through the center of town to reach the Farmington Valley.
Northpoint said it will support an initiative to ban truck traffic on Filley Street, but neighbors pointed out that a no-truck ordinance is unlikely to be enforced 24 hours a day.
“I’m pro-business and pro-economic development, I certainly want to see us expand our business tax base. But I’m concerned about the amount of traffic that may spill over onto Filley Street,” Bolton said.
Commissioner Stephen Millette credited NorthPoint for reducing the height of some parking lot light poles and adding more trees as screening between the property and the road, but nevertheless cast
the only “no” vote.
Commissioner Michael Oliver abstained from the vote after indicating he didn’t approve of NorthPoint’s plan.
“I’m not a big fan of something like this coming that close to a residential area. I wish there could be another spot,” Oliver said.
Chairman Byron Lester, the most outspoken supporter of NorthPoint’s plan, emphasized that the property is in an industrial zone.
“In that I-2 area there are other warehouses, it seems like it’s ideally situated where other warehouses are,” Lester said.
“I have the concern about the traffic on Filley Street and I’m happy to see there will be restrictions on that. The majority of the traffic will be coming off of 91 onto West Dudley Town Road, it seems the traffic would be leaving the same way,” he said. “I would think there would be a minimum impact on Filley Street, not to say there won’t be any.”
Lester also focused on the appearance of the property now.
“This is a total improvement with the building and landscaping and everything they’re proposing to do,” he said. “I’m happy something is going out there.”
The vote was a setback for neighbors who sent more than two dozen letters of opposition and then took turns speaking against the proposal during the hours-long hearing Thursday night.
NorthPoint’s attorney, Thomas Cody, advised commissioners to focus on the detailed traffic study by FA Hesketh & Associates, a consultant hired by his client to assess how the project would affect nearby streets.
“What’s in the record is the report that concludes the traffic from the project can be safely and adequately accommodated on the existing roadway network,” Cody said. “There’s really no other technical evidence that disputes that. There’s no other traffic study, no other traffic engineer that’s testified.”
The commission awarded NorthPoint four special zoning permits as well as site plan approval.