After many months of presentations, public hearings and deliberations, the Zoning Commission narrowly denied the Halls Road Overlay District application that would have allowed the construction of mixed use buildings in the town’s main commercial district. At Monday’s special meeting, the application received three votes of approval and two against, which normally would have counted as an approval. But due to a negative referral from the Planning Commission in January, the application required a supermajority vote, or four out of the commission’s five votes. The commission approved a maximum length of 125 feet per building, as well as a building maximum of 10,000 square feet. The maximum building height was lowered from 40 feet to 35 feet, and the maximum lot coverage was lowered from 50 percent to 40 percent because the area is in the town’s conservation zone – and its regulations would supersede the overlay district’s, said Marsh.
Short by One Vote, Halls Road Overlay District Defeated in Old Lyme