Pivotal Business Park North vote is Dec. 8, three days after public outcry paused rezoning

Editor's note: The Dec. 8 vote, to enter into a financing agreement to allow Norwich Community Development Corporation to purchase the land for Business Park North, passed, according to a press release from Norwich Community Development Corporation.

NORWICH — Just ahead of a Dec. 15 purchase deadline, the Norwich Community Development Corporation will decide whether to move on 384 acres of farmland in Occum.

The city's economic development agency will vote at a Special Board of Directors meeting Thursday, Dec. 8, whether to authorize President Kevin Brown to acquire a loan of $3.1 million for the purchasing of the $3.55 million in land, and to notify the current owners, Byron Brook Country Club, LLC and M&A Holdings, LLC, of the intent to purchase.

The difference is option payments the Norwich Community Development Corporation already made to the owners over the past two years, Brown said.

The meeting will be on Thursday at 4 p.m. People can attend the meeting at Foundry 66 on Franklin Street or watch over Zoom. A Zoom link should be provided on the agenda document on the agency's website, under "About Us" and "Agendas & Minutes."

While the decision is ultimately the board's, the economic development agency is in a good position to close on the property at the end of this year, Brown said, not wanting to speak on the board's behalf.

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Public outcry delayed Norwich City Council vote on Business Park North

Taftville and Occum residents living near the proposed business park convinced Norwich City Council Monday night to delay voting on rezoning the land in question. Many equated progress with Business Park North as one step closer to having big businesses disrupting the woodlands.

“I hope that, having so many questions unanswered, you decide to continue this and send it back to the drawing board,” Scotland Road resident Erika Chiaradio said.

Chiaradio said the city hasn’t been transparent enough with this project going on for years, as she only learned about it weeks ago.

MoreBusiness Park North promises $3 million a year, once full. Residents are skeptical.

The public hearing process started Monday night will continue on Dec. 19.

Even though the zoning issue is still ongoing, it will not impact the decision on whether or not the Norwich Community Development Corporation will buy the land, as the plan to purchase was made with current zoning in mind, said Mayor Peter Nystrom.

Why does zoning matter for Business Park North?

The zoning is a special kind developed for the Business Park North project, known as the Business Master Plan District. Officially created in April 2021, the new zoning is meant to take the land, currently zoned under two types of commercial zoning, and give it a more restrictive zoning.

From the Nov. 9 meeting, the city listed out the allowed uses in the new, Business Master Plan District. These include professional and contractor offices, research and development facilities, computer software and hardware development, data centers, logistic centers, laboratories, manufacturing, power generation facilities and utilities, and truck stops, along with “other uses as permitted in the underlying zone in which the BMPD is located when specifically identified at the time of the BMPD application.“

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The original zoning allows for businesses like hotels, universities, restaurants, clubs, retail, and mixed-use buildings with up to three dwellings, as well as those listed in the new zoning.

Even if the new zoning isn't approved after the Norwich Community Development Corporation buys the land, the possible uses are still open as it retains the prior commercial zoning, and development can still occur. If the agency doesn't want to develop the land, it could be sold to a real estate trust, Brown said.

How will Business Park North balance resident quality-of-life concerns with economic development?

Brown stated in a text that Norwich Community Development Corporation sent out notification of the public hearing with advanced notice for people to come to the hearing, and that the Development Corporation listened to concerns shared from the Nov. 9 informational meeting.

“We will continue to do everything we can to integrate and solve for these quality-of-life concerns while we simultaneously make sure that we put Norwich in an advantageous position to attract the type of economic development this city desperately needs to meaningfully impact the tax base,” he said.

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Some of the resident concerns addressed from the Nov. 9 meeting include showing that the business park project is in compliance with the city’s height, light, and noise requirements, that the large arterial roadway is designed to prevent larger vehicles from entering the residential roads, and the project has received approval from the State Historic Preservation Office, and from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said Brown during a presentation during the Norwich City Council meeting.

The rezoning part of the Business Park North plan wouldn’t cost the city anything, but is a critical part that lets perspective businesses know that Norwich is “shovel ready,” he said Tuesday.

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Why zoning matters for Business Park North in Norwich