The town’s Jan. 4 approval of a controversial redevelopment plan to transform the Timex Corp. property into a 670,000-square-foot distribution center is now headed to court. Middlebury Small Town Alliance, which spearheaded a yearlong fight against the project, this week filed an appeal with Waterbury Superior Court. The town’s Planning and Zoning Commission made errors and approved the application with complete disregard for its own regulations, the lawsuit claims. The lawsuit seeks a reversal of the decision and an order that the PZC instead deny the project. It also requests a temporary restraining order be issued prohibiting any use of the zoning permit, pending completion of the appeal. Middlebury’s opposition to the project has garnered statewide attention and been marked by impassioned residents expressing anger over the town’s inability or unwillingness to halt what they fear will be an a Amazon-like facility, with hundreds of trucks going in and out day and night. Yard signs opposing the “distribution center” still dot the town’s landscape.
