PZC Sets Date For Cherenzia Condo Deliberations

The Planning and Zoning Commission has set Oct. 18 as the date for its deliberations on the contentious development near the intersection of Mary Hall and Greenhaven roads in Pawcatuck.

The housing project is being developed by Cherenzia Companies for the Richard C. Panciera Remainder Charitable Trust.

By the numbers, nearly 700 neighbors, abutters and other residents signed a petition opposing the development for the 58-acre site, more than 100 people attended the PZC public hearings and more than two dozen spoke against the plan at

Under state law, the planning commission has until mid-November to make its decision on the application.

At Tuesday’s PZC meeting, the four commissioners in attendance agreed that the only matter for discussion then, save for setting a date, was to ask questions of Town Planner Keith Brynes. And, to find out the status of a request for a legal opinion on a zoning question which may just be the wrinkle the developer sought to avoid and opponents sought out.

The zoning matter raised first by Zoning Official Joe Larkin surrounds a regulation that prohibits excavation and on-site materials processing—rock crushing, for example—in the residential zone.

Developer Cherenzia has said it will need to blast on the site. The PZC has asked for a legal opinion from Town Attorney Thomas J. Londregan on whether blasting excavation and processing is permitted given the amount of material expected to be excavated and, potentially, processed on site. The regulation may be interpreted to mean the exclusive use, like a commercial excavation operation.

The attached housing development is permitted in the zone, but neighbors charged the plan is not in keeping with the character of the single family home neighborhood.

The Oct. 18 meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at .

In other PZC action, a drive-thru re-design approval request for the soon-to-be-built McDonalds at 445 Liberty St., in Pawcatuck has been put off until Oct. 4; not a hardship given it’s been more than three years since the McDonalds was approved, part of the Pawcatuck Farms plan. The developer said the poor economy stalled the construction but that “fortunately, McDonalds is now moving forward.” All that’s required is a building permit, but that must wait until the PZC is assured that menu signage is not visible on roadways, as dictated by zoning regulations.