Southington Developer Appeals P&Z Decision on 1104 South Main Street

SCREEN CAPTURE, SOUTHINGTON WEB GIS, TIGHE & BOND

Southington developer 3 Squared LLC has filed a zoning appeal with the Superior Court in New Britain, asking the court to invalidate a unanimous decision made by the Southington Planning and Zoning Commission in September. 

3 Squared has been pursuing a plan to build a 65-apartment complex on a two-acre parcel on South Main Street in Plantsville. Twenty of those apartments would carry a forty-year commitment to keep them affordable for moderate and low-income residents. In order to commence building, 3 Squared needed three approvals from the Commission: (1) the creation of a new zoning category for affordable housing, (2) the reassignment of the property into that new category, and (3) approval of the overall site plan. 

Throughout the summer, the Commission and 3 Squared had worked through modifications of the plan, reducing the number of apartments and the height of the building (from four floors to three) and re-designing the parking lot to hold more parking spaces. 

But ultimately, the Commission decided to reject all three proposals, citing a combination of parking concerns (especially situations where tight parking would force residents' guests to park on the surrounding streets) and public sentiment opposing the project. 

In their appeal, 3 Squared responded to the parking concern by saying that the proposed number of spaces exceeds Connecticut's minimum requirement. According to the appeal, the number is 74; according to the September 16 meeting documents, the number is 70, 10 of which may be restricted for disabled access and other special purposes.

3 Squared further wrote in their appeal: "At the June 17, 2025 meeting, neighbors continued to complain of perceived traffic issues, referring to 3 Squared's future residents as 'absolute garbage' and 'dirt bags.'" 

This appears to be a reference to comments made by one local resident during the June 17th meeting's public comment session. In that session, a man who identified himself as John Morfis said, in reference to the proposal, that, "It's going to bring in absolute garbage. The quality of the trail has declined. I keep running into riffraff, people drinking under the bridge… Can we please have armed police officers on the trail 24/7 so I don't have to run into dirt bags on the trail?"

During the session, Commission Chair Robert Hammersley objected to the use of the term "dirt bag," and suggested the speaker would have to leave the meeting if he continued to be disrespectful. 

The Court will be obliged to decide the issue only within the scope of Connecticut General Statute § 8-30g. In that context, 3 Squared contends that the Southington Planning and Zoning Commission "did not identify any type or probability of harm that would result from the plan; did not identify a substantial public interest in health or safety; did not balance affordable housing need against its denial; or identify reasonable changes that would address its concerns with the plan."

At the September 16 meeting, Commissioner Walowski claimed that safety, particularly related to parking, constituted a "substantial public interest" which would, in a balancing test, outweigh the desire for more affordable housing. Walowski also said that the safety concerns at this site could not be remedied through modifications to the site plan. 

Ultimately, the New Britain Superior Court will have to decide which perspective is more compliant with Connecticut's affordable housing law.

Asked to comment on the appeal, Hammersley said that he would not speak about pending litigation but added that the appeal was "not unexpected." 3 Squared LLC did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.

SCREEN CAPTURE, APPEAL DOCUMENTS