Enfield P&Z takes up Bright Meadow, Nathan Hale plans Thursday

How to attend or watch

When: Thursday, Oct. 15, 7 p.m.

Where: Town Hall Council Chambers, 820 Enfield St.

Watch: The agenda lists a YouTube stream. It lists no Zoom or call-in option.

Questions: Planning and Zoning office, 860-253-6355. Call to confirm whether remote comment is allowed.

Enfield's Planning and Zoning Commission meets in special session Thursday, Oct. 15, to take up the first phase of apartments and townhouses at the former MassMutual campus on Bright Meadow Boulevard, a plan for 55-and-older apartments in the former Nathan Hale School, and the proposed new lease of the Old Town Hall.

The commission's webpage says its regular Oct. 8 meeting was canceled and that a special meeting will be held Oct. 15. The agenda) includes a public participation period. As of Wednesday morning, it listed the YouTube stream and no Zoom or call-in option. The webpage says application materials are available for public viewing in the Planning Department, and the meeting packet) is posted on CivicClerk.

Kenneth Hilinski chairs the commission. Draft motions in the packet are not decisions.

100 Bright Meadow Blvd.

The application, SPR #1974 from 100 Bright Meadow Associates LLC, is listed under Old Business as a site plan item, not a public hearing.

According to the staff report, the first of two phases would convert the existing building into 178 apartments and 12,000 square feet of restaurant and commercial space (packet p. 57). It would also add a 5,700-square-foot clubhouse with indoor amenities and an outdoor pool, plus 62 townhouse units.

The staff report includes a draft "MOTION TO APPROVE SPR #1974." The traffic division's comment reads "Comments pending traffic impact study."

The applicant's traffic study by Solli Engineering, quoted in the staff report, covers 85 and 100 Bright Meadow Blvd. and describes a larger full build-out, including a new 129-unit apartment building and the reopening of an existing day care center. It concludes the project "will not have an adverse impact on the traffic operating conditions." Staff's description of the master plan does not mention the 129-unit building or reopening the day care.

5 Taylor Rd.

The commission continues its public hearing on NHR LLC's request to rezone 5 Taylor Rd., the former Nathan Hale School, to a Special Development District. A related site plan, SPR #1977, is listed under Old Business.

The staff reports, and the applicant's narrative and architect's unit table dated Sept. 9, describe 38 units; one site-plan sheet in the packet, dated July 9, labels 37. The narrative calls it "a 38-unit, age-restricted 55+ multifamily residential community." None of the packet pages reviewed states any affordability designation.

The packet includes draft motions to approve both the zone change and the site plan, the latter with 25 conditions.

Old Town Hall

Under agenda item 13.A, the commission will consider the Town Council's referral, under state law Section 8-24, of a 99-year lease of the Old Town Hall at 1294 Enfield St. to the Enfield Historical Society. A memo from Laurie Whitten, director of planning, says a 1923 lease has expired and "The reason for this referral is the change of lessee." It includes a draft "MOTION TO SEND A POSITIVE REFERRAL" to the council.

The packet contains no draft lease, rent or maintenance terms. The Town Council has set a public hearing on the lease for Monday, Oct. 19, at 6:50 p.m. in the Town Hall Council Chambers, according to its Oct. 5 minutes).

How this story was made: AI tools helped research and draft this story, working from the sources cited and linked above. It was fact-checked against those sources, and our editor, Joshua Allen, reviewed and approved it before publication. See an error? Email upriverdaily@gmail.com.