PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION

REGULAR MEETING
ASHFORD TOWN HALL, ROOM 103
5 TOWN HALL ROAD, ASHFORD, CT / January 13, 2020

Present: Jeffrey Silver-Smith (Chair), Janet Bellamy, Bruce DePercio, (Alt.), Gerald Dufresne, Alex Hastillo, Tom Hastings
(Alt.), Douglas Jenne (Alt.), Catherine Sampson, Mark Schnubel, Richard Williams

Guests: Mr. Mike D'Amato, Ashford Zoning Officer

Call to Order: The January 13, 2020 regular meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission was called to order by Chairman
Jeffrey Silver-Smith at 7:00 p.m.

Seating of Alternates: Mr. DePercio was seated for Mr. Schillinger and Mr. Hastings was seated for Mr. Yakovleff.

Review of the Minutes of the December 9, 2019 Meeting:

Ms. Bellamy noted that the seating of alternates from the Dec 9 meeting were not in the minutes.
The seating of alternates for the December 9, 2019 Planning and Zoning meeting were as follows:

Mr. Jenne was seated for Mr. Hastillo and Mr. DePercio was seated for Ms. Sampson The minutes of the December 9,
2019 meeting will be formally accepted with the submission and acceptance of the January 13, 2020 minutes.

Bills: Invoice for meeting minutes from Recording Secretary

Correspondence: Correspondence will be discussed in Executive Session.

Unfinished Business:

Review of ZEO Input on Zoning Regulations

Mr. D'Amato, Ashford Zoning Officer was introduced; he and Mr. Williams led the review of what had been and needed to be
done to complete the revision of the Ashford Zoning Regulations. They should be completed by mid March in time for
codification. Certain sections need to be a priority before codification while others can be worked on later.

Regulation Sections Discussed

Section 4B / Definitions have been agreed upon and communicated to the members.

Zoning Map Revision / Mr. D'Amato will revise the Ashford land use / zoning map. He will also enlarge
sections or zones of the map that need fixing before codification. This map was reviewed in 2018, but no
comments were received from the Northeaster Connecticut Council of Governments (NECCOG) at that time.

Pages 83-85 / needs to be updated especially the Rt. 74 corridor near the Transfer Station entry road. Mr. D'Amato will
work on making a first draft revision.

Other areas of land use were mentioned that might not need to be included in the Zoning Map such as the Yale Forest,
set asides for farms and land owned by nonprofits. It was felt that the zoning map for the public should be correctly
revised and represented while a separate map should be created showing land held by nonprofits and land owned by the
state.
Mr. Silver-Smith emphasized that the official Ashford Zoning Map is for public and Commission purposes while the
map showing nonprofit and state land use would be for the public..

Section 6E / The language for exceptions for agricultural excavations requires approval by the Planning & Zoning
Commission.

Mr. Silver-Smith suggested that a sub-committee be formed to deliberate and report in order to accomplish the work faster. Mr.
D'Amato and Mr. Williams who have already been working together will continue. Other Commission members wishing to be
on the Sub-Committee were Ms. Bellamy, Mr. Schnubel, Mr. Hastings and Mr. Jenne.
Ms. Bellamy noted she was specifically interested in the sections dealing with B&Bs /AirB&Bs. This prompted a
discussion of the distinctions between a B&B and AirB&B as well as the many other uses of sections of homes whether there had
been an add on or not. The concerns included not only having single home residential areas becoming mainly rentals but also the
legal and enforcement problems involved. Ms. Bellamy has already had some talks with the Ashford Lake Association. Our
regulations currently do not address noise issues that are a major concern of lake home owners along with septic system capacity.
Mr. Williams stated that it is not our idea to allow homes to be broken up into rentals. It was suggested that language
like "space not for rent" might be an idea.

Other Regulation Areas Noted for Work

Article 3 / Article 4B / Article 6 section 2 / Article 5A

Mr. D'Amato will review and revise the section on Administrative Actions

It was felt that it is better to have clear regulations rather than cause both individuals and the Commission to review, comment
and convene causing delays. Square footage needs to be expanded beyond 500 sq. ft. The stated "use" was felt to be most
important in decision making. An increase in requests for building permits has been observed. Mr. D'Amato noted a single page
placed before the beginning of the regulations' document. He suggested that "500 sq. ft." be removed, page retyped and placed
where it belongs in Article 5 section 4.

Mr. Silver-Smith stated the process:

1. Sub-Committee does its work
2. Sub-Committee reports to the full Commission at February 10th meeting
3. Public Hearing in March 2020

A copy of regulation changes must be sent to the Northeast Capital Council of Governments (NECCOG) 30 days prior to a vote
in order that they determine any changes do not conflict with the regional plan. The Zoning Officer will find out the exact time
frame for requirements. The first meeting of the Sub-Committee was set for January 28, 7 p.m. at the Town Hall. He will also
file meeting information with the town and book the meeting room. The Sub-Committee was advised to keep minutes of their
meetings.

MS. BELLAMY MOVED AND MR. DUFRESNE SECONDED A MOTION TO MOVE THE AGENDA ITEM
"ZONIING OFFICER REPORT' TO BE ADDRESSED NEXT. AGAINST NONE, NO ONE ABSTAINING, MOTION
PASSED 9-0.

Zoning Officer Report:

The update on the map and work on the prior regulations was presented and discussed earlier in the meeting. Mr. D'Amato has
been taking building permit applications and has a copy of that list and appropriate dates and other data. He can supply this to
the Commission. He investigates complaints and records any actions taken. Mr. D'Amato completed his report and left the
meeting at 8:00 p.m.

MR. WILLIAMS MOVED AND MS. BELLAMY SECONDED A MOTION TO MOVE TO EXECUTIVE SESSION.
AGAINST NONE, NO ABSTENTIONS, MOTION PASSED 9-0.

The Executive Session, "Update on 154 Westford Hill Rd." ended at 8:17 p.m.

New Business:
Schedule of Special Meetings in January and February for Regulation Review prior to Codification

Sub-Committee first meeting - January 28, 2020, 7 p.m. Town Hall

Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting - February 10, 2020

Public Comment: none

Comments for the Good of the Board: No further information on the Caddlerock Properties

Adjourn:

MR. DUFRESNE MOVED AND MR. HASTINGS SECONDED A MOTION TO ADJOURN. AGAINST NONE, NO
ABSTENTIONS, MOTION PASSED 9-0.

The meeting adjourned at 8:22 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by'

Valerie B. Oliver, Recording Secretary
1/14/2020