Commission Approves Zone Change for Prospective Magnet School Site

The Capitol Region Education Council is now eligible to apply to build a magnet school near Avon Cider Mill after the Planning and Zoning Commission approved a zone change on the property by a 5-2 vote at its meeting on Tuesday.

"I'm very optimistic and appreciative of the patience, thought and consideration that the town of Avon gave us," Bruce Douglas, executive director for the Capitol Region Education Council, said.

The decision changes the two parcels of land at 59 Waterville Road, where the larger Reggio Magnet School of the Arts would be located, from office park and neighborhood business zones to RU2A residential zones like the surrounding properties.

That zone allows for 10 percent lot coverage and attorney David Hoops, who represents the education council, said that the magnet school would have 11 percent lot coverage. The education council requested the option of applying to expand the lot coverage to 15 percent to round the number up.

"We cannot go any lower and meet the criteria that the state imposes for a school," Hoops said, addressing the commission.

The commission approved this request by a 6-1 vote, giving the applicants the same option as R30 and R40 residential zones. Town Planner Steven Kushner said that if for some reason the commission rejected the education council's site plan application, the commission could always vote to rezone the parcels again.

"The property applicant can ask the Planning and Zoning Commission to increase lot coverage to 15," Kushner said after the meeting, adding that two thirds of the commission must vote in favor of it for it to pass, in other words about five out of seven. "This puts an extra burden on the applicant"

 While the majority of the public came in support of a magnet school being built near Avon Cider Mill and Hoops presented 20 letters of support from region residents to the commission, there were residents that live near the proposed site that spoke out against having a school from their home at the public hearing. The primary concern was traffic.

"Those are legitimate concerns, and that's why you have a Planning and Zoning committee that knows more than I do or anyone else does and will take a good look at it. Avon's a well run town," Douglas said. "There's a track record here of making good decisions and I'm going to rely on them to make a good decision. We don't want a school located in a bad location."