A plan of development in need of dentures

For the second time in two months I sat through a presentation on the update of the Middletown Plan for Conservation and Development, developed and written by Middletown's town planner Bill Warner. Warner should be commended for his command of Middletown planning history, his hard work in assembling the package, and his willingness to present the plan before 13 groups, according to his own accounting.

You can read the plan here, and read it you should.

Warner is enthusiastic about Middletown's advances in preserving open space, through a variety of strategies and purchases, and about planning alternative transit plans for the town. He is also fully aware of the problems in neighborhoods adjacent to Main Street (though he doesn't acknowledged that the re-development of neighborhoods East of Main Street, and the building of the Richman Group project - which Warner backed enthusiastically - have fueled a rapid degradation of neighborhoods West of Main and North of Washington Streets.) Creating good housing for all - particularly those who are impoverished and underserved, is essential. Creating that housing by pushing the problem to other neighborhoods is simply ignoring the core problem

Warner acknowledges the source of many of the problems - lack of home ownership, absentee landlords, increased vehicle traffic, and he offers good solutions to the "urban dilemma," but fails to acknowledge that some of the tools to address these problems - zoning enforcement, police intervention, are already available, and under-used. He mentions the "two family" limit for housing in the Village District, and in the Grand and Liberty neighborhoods, but I know from personal experience that conversion of two family homes to four or five apartments is ignored by those in charge of zoning enforcement, and that complaints don't register. There are three homes on my block of Pearl, and a recent conversion on Court Street, and all a zoning officer would have to do is count the mailboxes to know that code is being broken.

Warner, who seems to know every street and property in Middletown, is a font of knowledge. The downside is that while he asks for input, he's often defensive about accepting suggestions, sometimes immediately dismissing ideas with a list of reasons why they won't work. I've seen this occur at both presentations I've attended.

Warner should also refrain from digressive public comments which reveal his own feelings about how dangerous Main Street is after dark, and how much of a pain it is to the process when the public shows up to contest development issues. The first statement is not completely accurate, and was refuted by a former mayor at one meeting. The second statement shows a disregard for the democratic process.


By his own admission, the Plan of Conservation and Development is a document without teeth unless there are zoning codes which align with the plan.

So, while Warner is the author of the draft, and by his admission, the draft will come before a public hearing before it is adopted, I would suggest we all get involved in being sure that the plan will serve us, and Middletown for the next ten years.

Here are some of my suggestions:

- Have the final draft reviewed by the public and by appropriate commissions.
- Be sure that all suggestions for changes to the draft be available for viewing by the public and the commisssions
- Create a video presentation of the plan which can run repeatedly on cable access (the town has the right to demand this kind of broadcast)
- Make sure the plan is right, reflects the views of the city, and then create zoning code which complies with the plan
- Include actual wording about "new urbanism, smart growth and smart code" instead of simply nodding that it will be a future consideration
- Invite appropriate state legislators to the public hearing so they are familiar with the plans and concerns to the town
- As part of the plan, create separate departments of Planning, Development and Conservation, so there is a check and balances system instead of the very powerful department which exists now

Warner says he is open to suggestions. My suggestion is to be sure that any ideas you have are made in writing with copies to the Planning and Zoning Commission and to the mayor.

Are we smart enough for smart growth?

I was sorry to have missed the presentation on Smart Growth and SmartCode in person when renowned urban planner Robert Orr addressed the public and Middletown's Planning and Zoning commission. When I got home around 8:30, I tuned in the show on public access.

At the behest of commissioner Catherine Johnson, Orr gave an overview, and numerous examples of how Smart Growth, a rigorous blueprint for health and profitable urban development, can revitalize cities. The evidence seems clear that in places like Burlington VT, Petaluma, CA, New Haven and Hamden CT and Portland ME, that a Smart Growth approach, using a zoning formula called, appropriately enough SmartCode.

With Orr's approach, city streets would be more navigable, more approachable and livable in scale, and feature a mix of residential, retail and commercial space. The plan is inclusive, covering building and street design, occupancy and transit.

Middletown seems the perfect city in which this plan could work. We have a vital Main Street, already well on it's way, enough vintage architecture so that the entire city would not have to be built, Smart Growthwise, from the ground up, and a core of urban pioneers who would like to see the city make the next leap forward.

Interestingly, SmartCode stipulates "no banks/no blanks" in Smart Growth corridors. Orr explained that banks present "blank facades" in the streetscape that are not inviting for pedestrians to walk by. I wonder what he would think about the block of Main Street, on the West Side of the street, between Court and College Streets - three banks, and two parking lots make up the entire stretch, with Middletown's only outsized office highrise looming behind.

I'd encourage citizens to push the Planning and Zoning Commission to adopt SmartCode for our city center. The Commission is now reviewing the plan of development for the town. Whether our town planners have the courage and vision to do so remains to be seen.

The presentation was recorded, and should be available on tape in the public library. We can also ask the cable access station to edit the meeting down to just the Orr presentation and feature it for repeat broadcasts.

Catherine Johnson is in

I just got the word from Catherine herself that she is a newly elected member of the Planning and Zoning Commission. Hooray. With her experience, and her passion to make downtown a better place, Middletown just won.

Did Catherine win a seat on P&Z

Right now, there seems to be some debate about the issue. But the charter seems clear on the topic. Those who get the most votes in the election are chosen to fill the open slots. Which would mean that Catherine is on the commission. There is no rule, in the charter at least, which designates how many members should be from the majority or the minority party.

Doh, we forgot to tell you about the 140 foot wall

The plan for the proposed Rite Aid pharmacy on the corner of Main and Union Streets goes before the Planning and Zoning Commission Wednesday evening at city hall (7 pm Council Chambers).

So the architects have made-nice by making it all store front on Main Street.

Then there's the drive-thru window. A bad idea for a Main Street building to begin with (so bad that an ordinance is on the books against such drive-thrus), but the ZBA voted to allow an exception.

What no one talked about at that ZBA meeting was the plan to put the parking lot along Union Street at the same grade level as Main Street. This means building an inclined ramp to access the parking lot, and constructing a retaining wall that, if I'm reading the elevations correctly, could be more than 140 feet long, and up to 6 feet tall by the time you reach the ramp, and 11 feet tall by the end of the lot.

A 140 foot long, concrete wall which inclines to 11 feet, topped with a chain link fence is neither pedestrian friendly, nor good downtown planning.

Planning and Zoning needs to ask for an adjustment to the plans, and must be brave enough to face a developer who claims they are ready to walk away if they don't get what they want. Believe me, they want this location, or they wouldn't be going through the time and expense they've already spent.

Meeting Matt Lesser

After criticizing his intemperate political rallying cries, I got an email from Wesleyan student, and Democratic candidate for alternate on Middletown's Planning and Zoning Commission, Matt Lesser. He wanted to meet, so we decided on coffee at the Red and Black Cafe on Broad Street.

Matt is, as he suggested, a more nuanced politician than I gave him credit for. He has a lot of experience for a young man. He took two years off from school to work for the DNC recruiting voters during the last presidential campaign, and spent time studying Urban Planning at the Brookings Institute. He's a committed Democrat, understands that being a Democrat doesn't make one pure and perfect, but he's a bit unwilling to brook criticism of local Democratic politicians and the local Democratic Town committee.

Which frightens me a little. Loyalty of that sort can be used in a way that's counterproductive. One needs to be able to admit the errors of colleagues, and to accept the good ideas of opponents.

Matt seems to have his head screwed on relatively straight. He's ambitious, articulate, and he's young. And he's working his ass off to get his fellow students to the polls.

I'll vote for him on Election Day.