first quarter 2013 - connecticut chapter of the american planning

CONNECTICUT PLANNINGA Publication of the Connecticut Chapter of the American Planning Association

www.ccapa.org

Winter 2013

Connecticut’s Great Places page 4

The Route 6 Hop River Corridor 14

Bushnell Park: A City Treasure 16

From the Bench: Abandoned Nonconforming Uses 20

Connecticut Planner Profile: Erin Wilson 22

http://ccapa.org

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Connecticut Chapter of APA – Officers & Directors

Jason A. Vincent, AICP President

Khara Dodds, AICP Secretary

Heidi Samokar, AICP Treasurer

Donald J. Poland, AICP Immediate Past President

Marcia A. Banach, AICP Member at Large

Patrice L, Carson, AICP Member at Large

Neil S. Pade, AICP Member at Large

Christopher J. Smith, Esq. Member at Large

Daniel A. Tuba Member at Large

Christopher S. Wood, AICP Committee Chair, Government Relations

Alan L. Weiner, AICP Committee Chair, Membership Services

John D. Pagini, AICP Committee Chair, Professional Development Officer

Linnea McCaffrey, AICP Committee Chair, Program

Emily J. Moos, AICP Committee Chair, Publicity & Communications/CT Planning Magazine

Click on the names above to send email, or visit www.ccapa.org/about_us/executive.htm for additional contact information.

is published quarterly by the Connecticut Chapter of the American Planning Association. Contributions are encouraged. Submissions must include the name and contact information of the contributor. Material may be edited to conform to space or style requirements. Please address submissions to Executive Editor Emily Moos (contact information below).

Executive Editor:Emily J. Moos, AICPCapital Region COG241 Main Street, Hartford, CT 06106Ph: (860) 522-2217; Fax: (860) [email protected]

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Have you checked out the brand new CCAPA website? Take a look! It’s your one stop shop for chapter information, from the latest events, to updates from committees, to publications and connections to our social media outlets. Don’t forget to update your information in the new and improved CCAPA membership database (located in the members only section).

OPM Posts Responses to Public Comments The Office of Policy and Management (OPM) has posted its re-sponses to public comments on the Draft 2013-2018 Conservation and Development Policies: A Plan for Connecticut at http://1.usa.gov/ZFBvKc. Responses to comments are listed alphabetically by name/organization and have been batched in separate PDF documents by:

• Municipalities and RPOs• Municipalities and RPOs (map details)• Public/Individuals• Statewide Organizations• Local and Regional Interest Groups• State Legislators• State Agencies (including Councils & Authorities)

You can also download a copy of the Draft Plan as well as Loca-tional Guide Maps from this page. Once the necessary revisions are complete, OPM will send the plan to the General Assembly’s Continuing Committee on State Planning and Development, which will conduct a public hearing as required by CGS Sec. 16a-30(a).

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FROM THE EDITOR Besides the fun facts, I’ve realized that each town in Connecticut is a great place and at their beginnings, each had great qualities to those who settled them, which is why they exist to begin with.

Dear Connecticut Planning Readers,If you had to name one, what would you say is one of Connecti-cut’s great places? There are so many, I know it’s hard to choose. When I ask myself that question, my mind begins recalling scenes and experiences that I’ve been lucky enough to see and have all over the state — after all it has been my home for all of my 31 years and where I’ve built my planning career for the past seven. Although, not until the past few years have I realized just how many great places we truly have here, and I owe that all to a map and a jar filled with scraps of paper, each holding the name of a town in Connecticut. When I began my first job and met the man who is now my fiancé, one of the first things he remembers me telling him is that I would one day become the Governor of Connecticut. Not long after that, we began to bond over trips to different towns and at-tractions in Connecticut, like the beach at Hammonasset State Park, Hamden’s Sleeping

Giant, Downtown New Haven and Stamford, Hartford’s Bushnell Park, West Hartford Center, etc., and it be-came clear to me that in order to un-derstand the state fully in preparation for my role as its future leader, we’d need to visit every single town and city, become familiar with its rhythm, and learn a little bit about its history. It was with this realization that our “town project” — one which may take a lifetime to complete — began. Whenever we have a free block of time together, we’ll pull a town out of the jar, consult our map and go, which is made easy by the fact that our state is conveniently compact. This project is how I learned that the Town of Water-town is where the material for imita-tion fur was first made, the Town of Lebanon is the only town in Connecti-cut to have a biblical name because of its geographic characteristics, and that there actually is a Town of Scotland, CT. But, besides the fun facts, I’ve re-alized that each town in Connecticut is a great place and at their beginnings, each had great qualities to those who settled them, which is why they ex-

ist to begin with. We’ve visited nearly 20 towns from the jar since we began the project and whether in the east, west, central, northern, or southern part of the state, each has something unique which makes it great: a sprawling town green, a bustling village cen-ter, an old downtown lining a river, a main street with buildings that are remnants of its past, a train station, a pristine nature preserve surrounding a mountain, a sparkling wa-terfront, a tree-lined residential boulevard, a walking and biking trail, an urban garden and farmer’s market, preserved farmland dotted with hay bails and silos for miles. These are the things that make each Connecticut town a great place of yesterday, today, or of the future, and we as planners have a lot to do with this.

The editor (with her fiancé) walking down Main Street of one of Connecticut’s Great Places.

(continued on page 19)

CMs for CD-ROMs The APA has stopped mak-ing training and education CD-ROM’s in favor of these new-fangled “Streaming Education Products” (www.planning.org/store/stream-ing). However, you can still get CM credit for most of the CD-ROMs in the Chapter’s lending library. These are:

• Maintaining Neighborhood Character

• Ethics in Planning• Renewable Local Energy• Designing for Water

Conservation• Informed Decisions: A

Guide to Gathering Facts and Evidence

• Performance Measurement in Transportation Planning

• Creating Successful Meetings

• 2010 Planning Law Review 2010

Contact Craig Minor at [email protected] for more information or to check out one of these titles.

www.planning.org/store/streaming



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Great Places. You know them when you see them — but how do they become great? All the decisions we make influence the quality of our neighborhoods, streets, and public spaces. APA’s flagship program — America’s Great Places — celebrates places of exemplary character, quality, and planning. Great Places represent the gold standard in terms of having a true sense of place, cultural and historical interest, community involvement, and a vision for tomorrow. APA Great Places offer better choices for where and how people work and live. They are enjoyable, safe, and desirable. They are places where people want to be — not only to visit, but to live and work every day. *

In this issue of Connecticut Planning, we highlight four of our state’s great places — Hartford, Stamford, New Haven, and Bridgeport.

* Source: www.planning.org/greatplaces

Connecticut’s Great Places

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The City adopted its plan of conser-vation and development — One City, One Plan — in June 2010. The Plan was guided by five broad planning themes:

1. Promote Livable and Sustainable Neighborhoods

2. Protect the City’s Natural and Built Environment

3. Enhance Mobility Through Tran-sit, Pedestrian and Bike Systems City-Wide

4. Advance Downtown’s Role as the Region’s Center for Commerce, Culture and City Living

5. Promote and Encourage the Inte-gration of Sustainable Practices

With those themes in mind, the City created a Marketing, Events, and Cultural Affairs division within the Department

of Development Services to support the cultural development of the City by assist-ing, promoting, and encouraging artists, arts and cultural organizations, and events in Hartford. We also created a Complete Streets Partnership between the Depart-ment of Development Services and the Department of Public Works to coordi-nate our streetscape efforts to include street redesign with enhanced bicycle, and pedestrian pathways. With the support of Senators Lieber-man and Blumenthal, Congressman Larson, the Connecticut Department of Transportation, Greater Hartford Transit District, and countless other supporters, the City was fortunate to receive a $10 million TIGER Grant earlier this year. Hartford’s Intermodal Triangle plans to strengthen the region’s economic and employment core through the creation of Intermodal Hubs, Transit Priority Streets, Complete Green Streets, and the innova-tive iQuilt pedestrian network. We are

Hartford, Connecticut’s capital city is a wonderful place to live with a rich and significant history. Its evolution has mirrored America’s continued dynamism

and cultural diversity. Hartford is a city steeped in its neighborhoods, with family roots going back as many as three or four generations. A history of cultural rich-ness has created a vibrant urban life and continues to attract people from all over the world.

Great Places: Hartfordby Thomas E. Deller, Director of the Hartford Department of Development Services

Hartford’s skyline.


also working on a sustainability project for the area north of I-84, a Transit-Oriented Development project near Union Station, a Transportation coordination project to review and synthesize all existing trans-portation studies and plans into a single concise, coherent and financeable Hart-ford Transportation Strategy (HTS), several bus and bus livability projects, and a rewrite of our zoning code. The new zoning code will organize the regu-lations around concepts of form, scale, design, and performance standards, and will also help to streamline the permit-ting process. We believe increasing the number of units of housing in the Downtown is key to creating a great place to live, work, and play in Hartford. The City, in partnership with the Connecticut Hous-ing Finance Authority and a private de-veloper, plan on converting about 100 apartments in a vacant downtown office on the corner of Pearl and Trumbull Streets. The City also recently approved

Great Places – Hartford, cont’d

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the conversion of the former Bank of America Tower at 777 Main Street, and the former Sonesta Hotel on Constitu-tion Plaza, creating an additional 500 units in our Downtown. In summary, a vision for the future of Hartford is “a clean, safe, culturally diverse community where residents can get an excellent education and become a valuable part of the workforce. Fami-lies and individuals can find affordable, attractive housing, both Downtown and in vibrant neighborhoods, and have ac-cess to efficient transportation. Natural and historic resources are well-protect-ed, and sustainability is at the forefront of all activities. Hartford’s government works with residents and the business community to leverage local invest-ments and regional opportunities, and advance Downtown’s role as the region’s center for commerce, culture, and city living.”

Thomas E. Deller was appointed Director of the Hartford Department of Develop-ment Services in April 2012. Prior to arriving in Hartford, Thom served as Di-rector of the Department of Planning and Development for the City of Providence Rhode Island for nine years. As director of the Department, Thom served as execu-tive director to the Redevelopment Agency, the Economic Development Partnership, the Housing Trust, the Off Street Parking Corporation and the Public Building Au-thority. Because of his position as Director, Thom was a member of the Rhode Island State Planning Council, the Providence Cranston Workforce Investment Board and a member of the Providence Founda-tion. For 15 years, Thom served as a board member of the Rhode Island Public Tran-sit Authority and was chair of the Author-ity for six years. Prior to his position as Director for Providence, Thom served as Deputy Executive Director for Programs at Rhode Island Housing, the state’s af-fordable housing agency. Thom is a mem-ber of the American Institute of Certified Planners. He graduated with a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree from the University of Rhode Island.

We believe increasing the number of units of housing in the Downtown is key to creating a great place to live, work, and play in Hartford.

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The City of Stamford has several public initiatives cur-rently in place to improve the quality of life in the city. The Sustainable Stamford committee strives to implement new environmental initiatives while addressing the needs of the growing community. In September 2011 the city began Phase 1 construction on a large renovation project of the downtown portion of the neglected Rippowam River in the Mill River Corrider that had deteriorated over time. The new park hopes to unify the downtown area and provide needed community space including a lawn area for concerts, a cherry tree grove and a much needed outdoor space for the large downtown popula-tion. The park is expected to be finished in the spring of 2013 and will re-open public access to the river which had previously been walled off from the downtown area. The Mill River Project was created by the collaboration between the Stamford Partnership and the Trust for Public Land and a dedi-cated group of citizens who created the Mill River Collaborative which is com-mitted to the creation and sustaining the Mill River Park and Greenway. This or-ganization, a collaboration of civic, gov-ernment and business interests, helps to raise funds for the project and has been instrumental in making this project a reality. The city retained the well known landscape architecture firm The Olin Partnership to design the park. The city is also home to other envi-ronmental organizations. Soundwaters,

The City of Stamford, in lower Fairfield County, offers residents a wide variety of cultural, intellectual, and outdoor

opportunities. Stamford is home to several large corporations with easy access to public transportation from New York City and a variety of housing options. The city also offers an excellent downtown experience with a variety of restaurants, independent movie theatres, and arts events at the Palace Theatre and the Rich Forum. Other local cultural institutions include the Kweskin Theatre and the Dressing Room Theatre at Sterling Farms, which is home to Curtain Call Performing Arts, the Stamford Museum and Nature Center, and the Stamford Symphony. During the summer months Sterling Farms is home to Shakespeare in the Park while the City of Stamford hosts the annual Alive@5 concert series with many nationally known performers. The City of Stamford has a diverse population which brings a variety of multi-cultural events to the city. The Stamford business community offers substantial support to many of these cultural events, local environmental causes, and the public schools.

Great Places: Stamfordby Nancy Offenbach Spaulding, RLA


Nancy Offenbach Spaulding

Mill River Park

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/nancy-offenbach-spaulding/12/b7/17

a leading environmental organization with a commitment to education is located in Cove Island Park. Their educational pro-grams reach over 25,000 school children through their acclaimed environmental science programs at their Learning Lab & Teaching Aquarium at the Coastal Educa-tion Center; aboard their 80-foot, three-masted Schooner, and at schools and field sites across the Long Island Sound region. Their monthly Business and Environ-ment lecture series, sponsored by many local businesses, strives to educate the community on current environmental is-sues. Recent topics have included “Green Towns,” “Walkable Cities and Alternative Transportation,” and sustainability issues relevant to businesses, green building practices, and socially responsible invest-ing. The City is also home to Rogers

School, a 105,000-square-foot building with a Silver LEED (Leadership in En-ergy and Environmental Design) rating in the Cove area of Stamford. The state-funded facility includes a green roof, ice storage for the HVAC system, a rain garden, a wind turbine for power development, and water-saving technologies.

Private developers are currently in the process of developing the South End of Stamford as a mixed-use community with housing, office space, parklands, and new sidewalks and roads. This redevelopment called Harbor Point is located on the peninsula south of 95 which previously contained industrial sites, old factories, some housing, and office space. The South End strategic plan was adopted in 1998 and was implemented to increase public safety, neighborhood school programs, and

promote economic development. The area is home to the Waterside School, a small charter school that serves the downtown community and was built from charitable contributions. The South End is also home to the Loft Artists Association (LAA) whose studios and gallery were previously located in the old Yale and Towne factory building and, as part of the revitaliza-tion of this area, are now located in a new building nearby. The LAA hosts Open Studio days twice a year and several gallery shows, giving local artists the opportunity to exhibit their work to the public. Stamford has also implemented single-stream recycling which has reduced costs and reflects a commitment to environ-mental issues.

Vision for Stamford’s Future Stamford has made great strides in the past few years as far as environmen-tal initiatives, sustainable growth, and a stronger commitment to educating a diverse population. The downtown area has become a great destination offering many ethnic restaurants and high quality cultural events. It is also a community of culturally diverse people who enrich the community, and dedicated people who give their time and energy to making the community better for everyone.

Nancy Spaulding is a licensed landscape architect with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Brown University and a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture from Cornell University. Prior to establishing her own firm in 1998 in Stamford, she worked for several Boston-area firms including Carol R. Johnson and Associates and Benjamin Thompson and Associates, a world renowned architecture office. While at Cornell, Nancy spent a semester studying design in Copenhagen, Denmark and wrote her master’s thesis on Parking Lot Design. Nancy has been licensed for over 20 years and currently holds registration in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York. In 2002 the firm name changed to Spaulding Landscape Architects, LLC when her husband, Brad Spaulding, who is also a licensed landscape architect, joined the practice. The firm can be reached at www.spauldinglandscapearchitects.com or (203) 322-6404.

Great Places – Stamford, cont’d

Images from Soundwaters programs in Cove Island Park.

New Haven has a culturally diverse population that participates passionately in the life of the City. A portal for im-migration since its founding, many lan-guages can be heard on local public high school sports teams and in ethnic markets. Yale University, along with Southern Connecticut State University, Albertus Magnus College, Gateway Community College, University of New Haven, and Quinnipiac University, generate a signifi-cant resident youth population and visi-tors who fuel vibrant arts, entertainment, and nightlife; their faculty and staff con-tribute to the intellectual life of the City as well.

New Haven is a great small city because it has all of the ingredients that make a city complex, interesting, and challenging, but is small enough to

be completely “knowable.” The 15-acre New Haven Green at the center of the nine-square grid of downtown provides an outdoor community living room for everything from music concerts to political protest. A National Historic Land-mark listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Green was selected as “A Great Public Space” by APA in 2009; the Nine Square Plan was recognized as a “National Historic Planning Landmark” by APA in 2001, and received the Cen-tennial Medallion Award from ASLA in 1999. This area is surrounded by a virtual dictionary of architecture from four centuries. The rapid growth of the city in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century has given New Haven a clearly defined neighborhood structure anchored by historic housing stock. The growth of Yale University as a global institution has provided a variety of long-lasting exotic architectural monuments from the nineteenth on into the twenty-first century.

Great Places: New Havenby Karyn Gilvarg, AIA, Executive Director, New Haven City Plan Department

Above: Shops along Chapel Street.At right: Music on the Green.


http://www.linkedin.com/pub/karyn-gilvarg/11/b2b/748

Great Places – New Haven, cont’d

Yale-New Haven Hospital is now the fourth largest hospital system in the country and a magnet, along with the

Yale Medical School, for re-search funding, both public and private, as the high number of bio-science-related compa-nies and startups in the region attest. New Haven is also a hotbed of artistic and entrepre-neurial activity, with many mil-lennials choosing to live here because of the city amenities, variety of housing stock, and easy walking and bike access. Metro-North and Amtrak link the City to the eastern sea-board. New Haven is located along three rivers that form a harbor on Long island Sound, and has a generous park system (17% of the City land) that conserves those waterbodies and the two distinctive red rock cliffs — East

Rock and West Rock — that bracket the City.

Planning Projects & Initiatives in New Haven

• Downtown Crossing/ Route 34: this project is replacing an urban ex-pressway with two urban boulevards and rebuilt cross streets. The project will expand the City’s de-

velopment footprint by taking back ap-proximately 10.5 acres of land currently used as an urban expressway and opening the land up for mixed-use transit-oriented development in the heart of the City between the medical area and the down-town. The project will create a more pe-destrian- and bicycle-oriented City center and reconnect several City neighborhoods separated by highway for nearly 60 years.

• The Grid/Innovation Hub: work-space, technical training, and resources and relationship for new and growing businesses located in a Ninth Square work-sharing space.

• Project Storefronts: a program of short-term occupancy of empty downtown storefronts that keeps the streetscape lively, allows artisans and entrepreneurs try out their commercial ideas, and has spawned a number of new businesses.

• Boathouse at Canal Dock: a commu-nity boathouse to be constructed on the

•Zoning Regulation and Boundary Amendments•Special Permitting and Variances•Zoning Enforcement•Site Plans•Subdivisions•Wetlands Permitting and Enforcement•Administrative Appeals•Siting Council Approvals•Complex Land Use Litigation

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Christopher Columbus Monument in Wooster Square Park. (continued on page 11)

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Historic residence in Wooster Square neighborhood.

Great Places – New Haven, cont’d

harbor front near historic Long wharf Pier.

• The School Construction Program: has rebuilt nearly every City school, and is matched by a school reform effort that is a national innovator.

• New Haven Promise: a scholarship program funded by Yale that ensures that New Haven public school graduates have the opportunity to go on to a CT college without incurring crippling debt.

• Project Pipeline: a collaborative project between industry, employment training programs, and educational institutions to get new Haven residents ready for work in new and emerging fields.

Vision for New Haven’s Future New Haven was the fastest grow-ing City in New England in the 2010 Census. That growth will continue as we welcome newcomers, help all residents ac-cess education that leads to employment, and grow and retain small businesses that

make our downtown and neighborhood shopping areas interesting and lively as well as convenient. Renewing our in-frastructure and increasing resilience to climate change will challenge all levels of government and the private sector in the coming years.

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Bridgeport will be a model for low-carbon urban revitalization that demonstrates that densification, greening, social equity, and prosperity can all go hand in hand.

Great Places: Bridgeportby David Kooris

A s Connecticut’s most populous city, Bridgeport has a tremendous amount to offer residents, businesses, and visitors: quick train connection to NYC,

Stamford, and New Haven coupled with affordability in stark contrast to the rest of Fairfield County; high-quality neighborhoods, parkland, and waterfront; strong sustainability ethos and agenda working to balance environmental, eco-nomic, and social goals; and an arena, ballpark, theatres, and higher education that serve as a cultural center for a large and diverse region.

Planning Projects and Initiatives in Bridgeport

Waterfront Recapture — Unlike its neighboring municipalities, much of Bridgeport’s waterfront is publicly acces-sible, including Olmsted-designed Seaside Park. Acres of new parkland and miles of greenway easements are being added to expand access.

Steel Point — Over three million square feet of approved residential, office, hotel, and retail development on a peninsula in Bridgeport Harbor with Bass Pro Shops as the anchor tenant.

Downtown Mixed-Use Development — Several hundred apartments built

downtown over the last decade including ground floor retail and office with nearly 1,000 additional units under construction or in the pipeline.

Eco-Industrial Park — District where green energy production is being devel-oped (including world’s largest fuel cell plan) to enable businesses with green prod-ucts to make them using green processes.

East Bridgeport Corridor — Over 800 acres of brownfields or underdeveloped land being transformed with the restora-tion of a waterway, the construction of a second train station for the city, and the cleanup and redevelopment of surround-ing land into employment opportunities

Great Places: Bridgeportby David Kooris, Director, Bridgeport Planning and Economic Development


http://www.linkedin.com/pub/david-kooris/4/45a/a86

for the next generation including expansion of Yale-Bridgeport Hospital.

Bridgeport will be a model for low-carbon urban revitalization that demonstrates that densification, greening, social equity, and prosperity can all go hand in hand. The city will reinvent itself, tak-ing the landscape that created so much wealth during the last indus-trial revolution and combining that asset with the skills of the local workforce to position Bridgeport at the frontline of the green indus-trial revolution that will take place during this century.

Great Places – Bridgeport, cont’d

A summer day at Seaside Park.

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The Route 6 Hop River Corridorby Lia Huang

Suicide 6, as it was once termed, is not exactly the name of a road you’d

ever want to drive on, and certainly not the great place you’d like to live, shop, work or play in. That has been, and con-tinues to change thanks to the Route 6 Regional Economic Development Council (REDC). The two-lane stretch of Route 6 in Connecticut between the end of I-384 in Bolton and the intersection with Route 66 in Columbia is a major through route for those traveling between Hartford and Rhode Island. As such, many vehicles dan-gerously blaze through this corridor travel-ing at high speeds just as they would on a freeway. However, the Route 6 Hop River Corridor, which includes this roadway sec-tion as well as a two-mile piece of Route 66, is not a freeway. It is the home to busi-nesses, residents, restaurants, and many recreational facilities. It is a place to slow down, enjoy the rustic views, hop on the multiuse trail, and grab a bite to eat. The REDC has devised a plan to make these gems known and put them on the map. Careful planning with plenty of public involvement has resulted in a well-crafted

Master Plan that identifies development nodes, designated areas that support ex-isting businesses by concentrating future developments nearby. The intent is to create mixed-use villages with a sense of place in key areas and preserve the bucolic landscapes cherished by these rural towns everywhere else.

Cities aren’t the only places with fun, active, mixed-use districts. The REDC is making this a reality in rural towns as well. The Route 6 Hop River Corridor, now that is a great place!

Already MissLos Angeles?... Plan on attending the 2013 APA National Planning Conference in Chicago, April 13-17.

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The Route 6 Hop River Corridor runs parallel to the Hop River Trail, a heavily used portion of the East Coast Greenway. Strong connections between the village nodes and the Trail are envi-sioned through new trailheads and con-nectors, village streets designed to accom-modate all modes of transportation, and


http://www.planning.org/conference/

https://www.planning.org/conference

Route 6 , cont’d

wayfinding signage to and from the Trail and villages. Four main “village nodes” are planned throughout the corridor:

• Bolton Crossroads — new shops, resi-dences, and offices anchored by existing Munson’s Chocolates and Bolton Ice Palace.

• Coventry Ridge — a canvas for possible residences, college classrooms, a science center, a community pool, offices, and more.

• Historic Andover Center — the ex-isting library, church, and other historic buildings along with the ball fields and senior housing could be complemented by retail supporting the adjacent Trail and new access to the Hop River.

• Columbia Lighthouse Corners — already fortunate to have a restaurant, an antique shop, and several small businesses it is imagined that this area could be ex-panded to create a destination that would support all businesses, new and existing.

Cities aren’t the only places with fun, active, mixed-use districts. The REDC is making this a reality in rural towns as well. The Route 6 Hop River Corridor, now that is a great place! The REDC is a collaborative group of town elected officials, administrators, planners, economic development direc-tors, planning and zoning commissioners, and business owners from Bolton, Cov-entry, Andover and Columbia. The group championed funding for a comprehensive land use and economic development study completed in 2010 and a newly

completed, complementary transportation study. The four-town cooperative plans to share in the costs and benefits of creating a cohesive corridor, a place to live, shop, work and play! Additional information may be found at www.route6hoprivercorridor.com and www.crcog.org.

Lia Huang is a Senior Transportation Planner at the Capitol Region Council of Governments.

Concept rendering for Andover transportation corridor.


Bushnell Park: A City Treasureby Rory E. Fitzgerald, Masters of Regional Planning Candidate, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Currently enrolled as a graduate stu-dent in the Regional Planning Pro-

gram at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, I was given an assignment in my Heritage Landscapes class that required me to select a site for further investigation and analysis. Having worked in Hartford for the past year, Bushnell Park seemed a natural and highly appropriate site for identifying cultural significance. Since substantial funds have been allocated to refurbish and renovate the park, it is in-teresting and illuminating to examine the history of the park and connect elements of the past with the present and future plans for the park. Bushnell Park, situated in the nucleus of downtown Hartford, has been a key component of the urban core of the capi-tal city, arguably since it was completed in the 1850s. Conceived from Reverend Horace Bushnell’s vision and desire to clean up the polluted, stinky, and undesir-able part of town adjacent to Union Sta-

tion, the park was a catalyst in establishing Hartford as the sole capital of Connecti-cut during a time when the state had two capitals, New Haven and Hartford. Viewing the park as an appropriate accompaniment to the Capitol Building, Horace Bushnell proposed that the park be, “A place of life and motion that will make us more conscious of being one people.” Not altogether convinced, it took editorial endorsements in both the Hartford Courant and Hartford Times as well as a citizen vote to convince the City Council to appropriate funds from the treasury to purchase land for the park. This secured Hartford as the first city in the United States to use public funds to create and establish a public park. Designed by Swiss-born Jacob Wei-denmann, who was an architect and colleague of Frederick Law Olmsted, the park with its meandering paths and clusterings of evergreen and deciduous



Above: Bushnell Kiosk Map.At right: Aerial View of Bushnell Park.

Conceived from Reverend Horace Bushnell’s vision and desire to clean up the polluted, stinky, and undesirable part of town adjacent to Union Station, the park was a catalyst in establishing Hartford as the sole capital of Connecticut during a time when the state had two capitals, New Haven and Hartford.

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plantings is an example of the English Landscape School period of design which was popular in the late 19th century. Weidenmann selected 157 varieties of plantings from North America, Europe, and Asia. 1,110 individual specimens were planted throughout the park which established a dense green oasis in the downtown. Currently many of those trees are still present in the park, which acts as an arboretum. After years of flooding sparked considerable property damage as well as safety concerns, the Park River

was re-routed and buried in an under-ground conduit in the 1940s. Although the park was designed around this river and housed five bridges across its expanse,


Bushnell Park, cont’d Since substantial funds have been allocated to refurbish and renovate the park, it is interesting and illuminating to examine the history of the park and connect elements of the past with the present and future plans for the park.

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the integrity seems ever pres-ent as a gathering spot, green core, and “place of life and motion.” Today the park is a trea-sure and cultural asset. In a city challenged by poverty and crime it functions as an island of repose and excite-ment: a venue for ice skating, the marathon, a lunch-time stroll, a ride on the restored carousel, or just a contempla-tive space for reflection. With the inception of the park plans closely paralleling the new additions and connec-tions proposed in the iQuilt plan, it is an exciting time to be a resident and visitor of Hartford. Triggering a simi-lar spark and excitement much like the original park installation provoked, the iQuilt plan utilizes elements of the past like the presence of the Park River and green corridors to connect and create an

Drawing by Rory Fitzgerald.

Bushnell Park, cont’d

even brighter urban oasis for Hartford. Horace Bushnell’s vision lives on through the legacy of Bushnell Park which is as significant and important to Hartford as it was during the 1850s when it was con-ceived. For more info, see www.bushnellpark.org.

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Sometimes life has a serendipitous way of working out. Although I no longer have firm plans to become the Governor of Connecticut, I am even more thrilled at the prospect of taking on a leadership role next year as President of CCAPA, and I’m delighted that my ongoing endeavor with my fiancé to visit every town in Connecticut should stand me in good stead for this job as well, in addition to becoming a special part of our marriage. The only unfortunate thing for me is that becoming President Elect this year means that this is my last issue of Connecticut Planning as Editor. I have loved this job and feel so lucky that Connecticut has such talented planners who continue to make this publication happen every quarter. I hope you will enjoy this issue on just a few of Connecticut’s Great Places!Happy Planning, Always!

Emily J. Moos, AICP Executive Editor, Connecticut Planning CCAPA President-Elect

From the Editor, cont’d

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20

From the Bench

You’re late for your meeting

with an old friend who recently pur-chased “Jenny’s by the Sea,” a restau-rant on Main Street known for its summer outdoor mu-sic entertainment with great water views. You and she frequented this establishment (okay, club) back in the mid-1970s when live rhythm and blues (okay, rock and roll) was stan-dard entertainment. This is just the type of music that your friend plans to reintroduce to Jenny’s hoping to draw on the “active adult crowd” (over 55 with children out of college and the home, with most of the bills paid and some extra entertainment money to help invigorate the econ-omy). Now, as the zoning enforce-ment officer for the town, you’re meeting with your friend to tell her about a new court decision that may affect the type of outdoor music she can offer at Jenny’s. Hurrying down Main Street, you think of this recent court decision involving a nonconforming outdoor music use. The case is Sound View Property Management, LLC and The Beach, LLC, et al. v. Old Lyme Zon-ing Board of Appeals, 2012 Conn. Super. LEXIS 1299 (May 16, 2012) (Joseph J. Purtill, Judge Trial Ref-eree). For the purpose of this column, the case’s essential issue is whether the owner of a restaurant named “Lenny’s on the Beach” has a legally nonconforming use for the perfor-mance of amplified band music out-doors without requiring a permit, and, if so, whether such noncon-

Abandoned Nonconforming Uses

by Christopher J. Smith, Esquire, Shipman & Goodwin, LLP

forming use was ever abandoned. The ZEO had determined that the property may have had such a vested nonconforming use, but that the use was abandoned as provided by Sec-tion 8-2(b) of the Connecticut Gen-eral Statutes. The owner appealed the ZEO’s determination to the ZBA, which upheld the ZEO’s de-termination. The owner then ap-pealed the ZBA’s decision to the Su-perior Court, which, based upon the particular facts of the record, upheld the ZBA’s decision. The Sound View Court first not-ed that a valid nonconforming use must be: (1) lawful; and (2) in exis-tence at the time the zoning regula-tion making the use nonconforming is established. The Court recognized that a lawfully established noncon-forming use is a vested right that is entitled to constitutional protection. However, a valid nonconforming use may be abandoned if the owner vol-untarily and intentionally relinquish-es the nonconforming use. Whether a nonconforming use is permanently abandoned is a question of fact. Intent to abandon may be inferred from the surrounding circumstances. The Sound View Court found evidence in the record demonstrat-ing that the property had a valid nonconforming use to play amplified band music outdoors prior to the adoption of certain zoning regula-tions that currently prohibit such use. However, the Court found the following facts persuasive on the is-sue of whether such nonconforming use was subsequently abandoned: (1) a prior owner appeared before and informed the ZBA that the owner

intended not to continue to operate the restaurant as a biker bar, but as a high quality family restaurant with-out outdoor music; (2) this same prior owner indicated on his liquor permit that any live entertainment would be “solo acoustic”; (3) three subsequent operators indicated on their liquor permits that live enter-tainment would be “solo acoustic”; and (4) the prior owner who indicat-ed that he would not have outdoor

Page 20

“A little voice inside my head said: ‘Don’t look back, you can never look back.’” — Eagles, The Boys of Summer

The Sound View Court found evidence in the

record demonstrating that the property had a valid

nonconforming use to play amplified band music outdoors prior to the adoption of certain

zoning regulations that currently prohibit such use.

amplified music actually stopped playing such music from 2003-2006 consistent with his liquor permit “in favor of the more sedate acoustic form of entertainment.” Based upon these facts, the Court found substan-tial evidence to support the fact that a prior owner of the property inten-tionally abandoned a vested noncon-forming use for outdoor amplified band music in favor of solo acoustic music consistent with the ZBA’s decision. You walk into Jenny’s and sit at a table with your friend. You explain the Sound View decision with an


From the Bench, continued

emphasis on how each case is fact specif-ic. You state that outdoor amplified mu-sic is prohibited under recently adopted zoning regulations. However, because outdoor amplified band music has existed “off and on” at Jenny’s going back to the mid-1970s, such is probably a valid nonconforming use that, unless aban-doned by a prior owner, may continue. Your friend notes that it has been two years since outside amplified band mu-sic has been played at Jenny’s, and that recent musical entertainment was of the Jonathan Edwards acoustical type. She wonders aloud whether amplified band music was ever abandoned. You tell her that you’ll review the zoning files first thing tomorrow to determine whether there is any evidence similar to the Sound View case that might be problematic for having outdoor amplified band music at Jenny’s. Your friend picks up her iPhone and sends a text message. She tells you

that she just cancelled Jenny’s jazz quar-tet Sunday brunches. She smiles and says, “I don’t want having a ‘more sedate’ jazz quartet on Sunday result in ‘abandoning’ Black Sabbath or Rolling Stones tunes on Friday and Saturday nights!”

Note: Sound View involves a State Supe-rior Court decision. A petition for certifi-cation requesting permission to appeal this decision was denied by the Appellate Court on October 24, 2012.

Page 21

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What are your favorite places (cities, towns, neigh-borhoods, etc.)?I am a New Englander, so I very much love small town centers such as Amherst, Massachusetts or Wilmington, Vermont. At the same time, I was raised in a city that has a vibrant downtown center, suburban living, and a touch of rural life. So, communities like Northampton, Massachusetts or my hometown, Middletown, Con-necticut, appeal to me. As a planner, places like New Haven and Hartford intrigue me because of the op-portunities and challenges that face these cities. For ex-ample, New Haven has so much going on with Transit Oriented Development (TOD) planning, Complete Streets, and an active downtown while Hartford has so much potential with the New Britain bus line, the I-84 Viaduct project, and the New Haven-Hartford-Spring-field rail line.

What made you decide on a career in planning?I started working for the City of Middletown, Con-necticut at the age of 16, working in various depart-ments including the Mayor’s Office, Building Depart-ment, and Planning, Conservation, and Development Department. I have always loved city government and working within the public sector, but I found that it was within the Planning, Conservation, and Develop-ment Department that I was able to give back to my community and develop a sense of pride for my ac-

Current Position: Planner at Milone & MacBroom, Inc. – Transportation Department Hometown: Middletown, CT

complishments. It was because of this passion and the influence of William Warner, AICP, Director of Planning, Conservation, and Development, that I pursued a degree in Planning by attending the University of Massachusetts Regional Planning Program.

Why did you decide to be a planner in Connecticut?Having had many years of experience living and work-ing in Connecticut within the planning profession, I strongly felt that staying in Connecticut and learning everything I could about the profession was the best career path for me. I also love challenges. New Eng-land’s landscape and built environment make it difficult to incorporate sustainable and TOD principles, new urbanism ideas, and Complete Streets designs in subur-ban settings. Redesigning our roads and changing the way of thinking to become less auto dependent is dif-ficult in itself. Therefore, applying these principles and practices in New England is challenging and exciting and is a planning movement that I strongly support.While the majority of my early professional experiences developed within the public setting, I took a job in the private sector in order to expand my experiences be-yond local government planning. I have had the oppor-

tunity to learn from accom-plished planners, engineers, and landscape architects how to apply these planning prin-ciples and practices through-out many communities in New England and specifically in Connecticut.

What projects/initiatives are you currently working on as a planner?I currently work within our Transportation group focusing on transportation-related projects such as TOD studies, parking studies, bicycle and pedestrian studies, and traffic analyses.

Connecticut Planner Profile: Erin Wilson


Erin Wilson

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/erin-wilson/13/732/45

I am currently involved in two TOD projects that are linked to the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield rail line. Additionally, I am working on the City of New Haven’s Point in Time Study, which is a yearly parking, pedestrian, and bicyclist count program. This yearly update follows the city’s Complete Streets initiatives by collecting annual data, and it also supports future grant funding opportunities.

Why did you join CCAPA? What do you like about being a member?I joined CCAPA while I was obtaining my Master’s degree in Planning. The American Planning Association best represents my in-terests and passion for planning. The APA is a great resource and a great way to stay involved and connected within the planning profession.

In your mind, what are some of Connecticut’s Great Places? I think what makes Connecticut so unique is the diversity in communities. Every commu-nity has its own unique elements and history that sets it apart from other communities. My favorite large city is New Haven. New Haven has evolved over the years and has such strong historical roots, being one of the first planned cities. New Haven always seems to be in the forefront of planning ideas. For instance, New Haven adopted Complete Streets standards back in 2008 and has made a commitment to follow these guidelines. The Route 34 Corridor project will not only extend the downtown into the medical district and create economic development opportuni-ties, but it will also incorporate Complete Streets stan-dards that will provide a walkable and bikeable connec-tion. On a smaller scale, my hometown of Middletown is also one of my favorite places. Middletown has al-ways strived to maintain a vibrant downtown that is surrounded by a strong suburban ring and rural set-ting. Middletown continues to protect as much open space as possible, redevelop underutilized properties and brownfields, and work toward recapturing its riv-erfront. The size of Middletown allows a resident to

Planner Profile, cont’d

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have the accommodations of a city yet is small enough to have a hometown feel. Middletown has always been my definition of a “Model City” — a place where you have a little bit of everything and not too much of one thing. Opportunities and challenges still exist in Middletown, which makes it a great place to live and to be a planner. The rural towns surrounding Middletown such as Middlefield, Haddam, and Portland are tight-knit communities where people truly care about the development and character of their towns. At the same time, these towns are close enough to a city to enjoy all the features of urban living. This is why I love Con-necticut. It doesn’t matter exactly where you live and work; communities are close enough for residents to benefit from their neighboring communities.

What are your favorite websites/tools/blogs that relate to planning and/or your job?My favorite websites are the National APA website, the CCAPA website, planetizen, and Smart Growth America (www.smartgrowthamerica.org).

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