Ridiculous Political Posturing Attempts to Damage Farmers' Market
Despite overwhelming public support demanding the approval of Coventry Regional Farmers’ Market’s move from the Nathan Hale Museum to 307 Spring Street in the Town of Coventry, the Planning & Zoning commission again delayed the market’s special permit request. The delayed vote further hurts the chances of the market's being able to remain in Coventry for the 2012 season. Winter Caplanson, the market's executive director, said the market will now more seriously consider invitations to use space in other towns for this year's market.
A barn REQUIRES a traffic Study?
The Cy Regional Farmers' Market (CRFM) was the lucky recipient of the American Farmland Trust's GREAT BARN GIVE AWAY and was awarded an open air post-and-beam barn worth $80,000! VIEW THE SPECS OF THE BARN HERE that was given to the Coventry Planning & Zoning Commission.
Although Connecticut Landmarks, operators of the Nathan Hale Homestead, had given permission and encouragement for the market to enter the contest, after the win of this well-deserved award, Connecticut Landmarks sought to charge the farmers' market an annual rental fee for the barn. This and other proposed lease terms were well beyond what the farmers' market could afford, making it impossible to continue at Hale.
The market was offered the Silver Street site and organizers drew up plans to construct its barn on the new property. But Winter Caplanson, Executive Director of the nonprofit CRFM, said she and other market leaders recently learned that the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission, might vote to require a costly and lengthy review and full-scale traffic study by the State Traffic Commission.
Historically, traffic studies have been conducted when there is a need for road work, road repair, or other contracted physical changes to existing roadways. Requiring such an extensive traffic study to move a farmers market from 2299 South Street, zoned General Residential Zone 80 in Coventry, 2.9 miles away to 307 Silver Street, is highly excessive. Additionally, and as you can see from the map below, most of the farmers' market traffic at the Hale Homestead Museum traveled on Silver Street to get to and from the market. Silver Street has already proven able to safely handle the market's traffic.
The new proposed Silver Street location for the Coventry Regional Farmers’ Market is zoned Commercial/Agricultural Zone on the west side of the street and General Residential Zone 80 on the east side of Silver Street. You can see the zoning map here indicating the old and new proposed locations for the Coventry Regional Farmers’ Market.
The last major public traffic study published by the CT Department of Transportation was the Buckland Area Transportation Study in August of 2010 to identify near- and long-term transportation improvements for the roadway network in the Buckland commercial area which encompasses portions of the Towns of Manchester, South Windsor and East Hartford. Additional DOT calls to action have requested official traffic studies for the I-84/Route 8 Waterbury Interchange, State Pier Deficiencies, and to assess Route 8 Deficiencies from Seymour to Waterbury. These are major highways and thoroughfares that affect millions of vehicle passengers on a yearly basis.
Why a full-scale State Traffic Study is unnecessary
According to the Department of Transportation’s website: Does the CT State Traffic Commission ever deny an application because residents or a town objects to a development? Answer:
“No. The STC and the Division of Traffic Engineering of the DOT work closely with the local traffic authority of a town in determining the requirements for roadway improvements in conjunction with the issuance of certificates of operation. By statute, the STC can only consider traffic safety in its review. While issues such as the impact on the environment or the quality of life in a town which may be impacted by a large development may be valid, they do not come under the STC's jurisdiction. These are decisions that must be made on a local level. If a developer's engineer can demonstrate, through accepted traffic engineering techniques, that the improvements proposed by the developer to mitigate the impact of the generated traffic are adequate, the STC will normally issue a certificate of operation.”
This means that the CT State Traffic Commission will rely on the input of Coventry’s Local Traffic Authority: Mr. John A Elsesser, Town Manager, Town of Coventry @ 1712 Main Street, Coventry, CT 06238, 860-742-6324, JElsesser@coventryct.org. Additionally, the Local Traffic Authority (LTA) of each town (Mr. Elsesser of Coventry) is contacted during the course of the technical review conducted by the Division of Traffic Engineering at the State Department of Transportation. The LTA's concurrence or nonconcurrence is noted at the State Traffic Control’s meeting. How to get an official traffic study?
It is our understanding that Mr. Elsesser’s objections to the market’s move 2.9 miles to a new location, and their request to build an open-air post-and-beam barn, would have to be noted at the State Traffic Control’s meeting and he would relinquish his Local Traffic Authority (LTA) control turning the issue over to be determined by a traffic study by the CT Department of Transportation. Such actions fly in the face of the mandates set forth in the Coventry Land Use Handbook and the House Bill no. 5472, Public Act no. 11-188 authorizing local and regional considerations of agriculture in local plans of conservation and development, effective October 1, 2011.
A highly excessive response in light of the facts. All of this because of a BARN?
Check out this picture of the barn that "requires" a $25,000 traffic study.
Also according to the DOT’s website, “Pursuant to Section 14-311 of the Connecticut General Statutes, a certificate of operation is required for all developments of 100,000 square feet of floor area and/or 200 or more parking spaces which abut or adjoin a state highway or which substantially affect state highway traffic. A certificate is required for any new development or an expansion of an existing development which, in its entirety, equals or exceeds the aforementioned thresholds and abuts or adjoins a state highway. A new certificate is required for any development which is already certified, and is increasing its parking facilities by 50 or more parking spaces, increasing in square footage or is proposing any significant change in use from that previously approved (i.e., office-to-retail). Pursuant to Section 14-311c, developments which share access or are contiguous and commonly owned are collectively considered in the application process.”
FACTS:
- The size of the proposed barn is NOT 100,000 square feet or more of floor space
- The Coventry Regional Farmers’ Market is not asking, requesting, or proposing the creation or construction of a paved parking lot. They will maintain an area of open grassy field for parking -- just like they did at the Hale Homestead Museum. And, just like at Hale, over-flow parking areas will be maintained for public safety and to keep the roadway clear of congested traffic.
- The 307 Spring Street location for the CRFM does not abut or adjoin a state highway
- The Coventry Regional Farmers’ Market is not proposing a zoning change at the 307 Spring Street site in order to host their market there.
According to the Hartford Courant, Caplanson said the farmers’ market was made an offer from a nearby town to use "a very prominent piece of town-owned land that is good to go for large events and has ample parking." Caplanson said she didn't want to name the town until the entire market committee could review the offer.
Caplanson said a number of other offers to host the market also came in to the committee over the weekend, one of which might be considered this week. Caplanson declined to name the location, but said it is already permitted and licensed to hold an event like the farmers market.
