Zoning regs will shape future of Wilton Center
WILTON — The process to shape the future of what Town Center looks like is taking the next step.
Representatives from BFJ Planning, the firm contracted to draft the master plan, presented ideas for Wilton Center’s zoning regulations Tuesday.
The goals of the plan are to activate the street front by regulating the types, height and design of new buildings proposed in Wilton Center, Senior Associate Jonathan Martin said.
Planning and Zoning Chairman Rick Tomasetti, who also heads the master plan subcommittee, said having uniform regulations for the center, following the study done by BFJ Planning throughout this year, will be valuable as many potential developers request zoning text amendments to push their projects across the finish line.
One such text amendment that is commonly needed when pitching a new application is an allowance on height.
Martin suggested the town adopt regulations that allow for buildings to erect up to four stories with an option for a fifth, or allow for a total of 58 feet in height, if the developer can fulfill certain density requirements. He also suggested a two-story minimum for new buildings.
Wilton Center Master Plan Subcommittee member Barbara Geddis questioned whether the two-story minimum and fivestory limit were the right approach and asked to shift the focus from height to scale.
“I hate talking about the number of stories,” Geddis said, noting that she needs to see a more concrete definition of what number of stories entails. “I think scale is different than height, and scale is of great interest to me. I think that number of feet and number of stories is somewhat irrelevant.”
Martin also outlined how the plans call for centralizing many of the town’s premier community events and activities to one section of Wilton Center.
“One of the main emphases of the plan is to think about developing a sense of synergy for activities and, rather than spreading it out all across the whole geographic area or spreading out those kinds of active uses, trying to concentrate on them on Old Ridgefield Road,” Martin said.
Activating Old Ridgefield Road is complemented by making the center more pedestrian friendly. Martin said part of the plan was to widen sidewalks for pedestrians and, where possible, add on-street parking to help bring in more people. In addition to that, BFJ is planning with the construction of the new pedestrian bridge — one that connects the Wilton Train Station with Town Center — in mind.
“We’re going to be very interested in improving and following the idea about pedestrian connectivity that were outlined in the plan,” Martin said. As more development occurs, he also said that further mapping and planning will be done to best connect Wilton’s section of the Norwalk River walk to Wilton Center.
Another common text amendment that is asked by potential developers is parking.
BFJ is suggesting a standard of 1.35 required parking spaces per dwelling unit for any building that uses residential components in Town Center. An additional assigned visitor spot per dwelling unit is also being recommended. There is also a requirement of 1.35 parking spaces per dwelling unit for non-assigned spaces, but Martin said the firm is not suggesting any more visitor parking in unassigned spots.
For the affordability factor of residential dwelling units, Tomasetti suggested a stock-standard 10 percent minimum of new units be deemed “affordable” for Wilton Center.
Some commissioners disputed the strategy of building setbacks, and at which floor the building should be set back. Frank Fish, a founding principal of BFJ Planning, noted the firm has done six of these master plans for other municipalities and told commissioners that, while they want to make sure to agree on each regulation before adopting the initial version of their master plan, it does not have to be final.
“If it works out well, you may have to change nothing,” Fish said. “But if it doesn’t, it is not set in stone.”
The firm will reconvene with the subcommittee on Dec. 15 to answer any other inquiries that were made to them via email. Once the subcommittee feels the plan is ready to be adopted, a public hearing will be scheduled.