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Politics & Government

P & Z Holds Hearing on Proposed Dental Office

The Plan and Zoning Commission hosted a public hearing Monday evening on a proposed zone change on Plainville Avenue for the construction of a medical office. The property abuts several residential zone properties, and the application drew opposition from a few neighbors in attendance at the meeting.

The application was submitted by orthodontist Baliram Maraj, currently practicing in Farmington. He is seeking the zoning change on the property at 801 Plainville Avenue from residential (R40) to business (B1). Portions of the property are currently zoned for commercial business. A vacant home currently sits on the property. The sale of the home to Maraj is contingent upon receiving approval of the zone change. The wetlands commission approved the application at a prior meeting.

The medical office would consist of a single story building of approximately 6900 square feet and would include 28 parking spaces if approved with the requested waiver of 7 spaces. The applicant also requested that the sidewalk suggestion for business zones not be applied to the site plan.

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Speaking on behalf of the applicant, Unionville attorney Robert Reeve said, "it would be another one of those sidewalks to nowhere. If we put a sidewalk in, we have a concern that the folks using the restaurant would use our parking lot."

The sidewalk issue drew the attention of commissioner Bill Stanford who felt they should be added to the plan so as not to set a precedent for applicants. He was also concerned about setting a precedent for expansion of business zones into currently residentially zoned neighborhoods.

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"The people that own the houses to the north and to the east, how do I tell them that I am going to re-zone this and hurt your property value?" said Stanford.

Plainville Avenue resident Scott Wetstone raised some concerns concerning the traffic impact of the proposal. Representatives for the applicant worked with the town traffic engineer and determined there would be little to no impact with the additional development. Wetstone noted that while volume data is important, he would like the board to consider the accident history of the area before making a final determination.

Other residents raised concerns about their property values, as well as the aesthetic impact of the new building on their residential property.

Answering concerns about the expansion of the medical practice, Dr. Maraj said that his business was a single doctor practice, and he intends it to remain that way until he retires. Any additional doctors would require further board approvals and likely increased parking capacity.

Regarding the increase in square footage over his current office, he said, "I am overdoing it, like I do when I care about my patients. This is not a mill, I wouldn't have [project architect]Jack Kemper design a mill. Its larger than I have use for, but you won't see my double my patients. That's not my style."

The public hearing will remain open until the matter is taken up at the July 8th, 2013 Plan and Zoning regular meeting.  

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