Town of Farmington
Coverage (8 articles)
Farmington's Wetlands Commission Uses a Term Its Own Regulations Never Define
The Farmington Inland Wetlands Commission voted twice on Sept. 2 that a project was "not a significant activity." The phrase is not among the 33 terms its own regulations define. Staff is finishing amendments to fix that, and the only public step is a hearing nobody has scheduled.
Farmington Asks What You'll Pay For in October. What You'll Owe Arrives in July.
Farmington's resident survey opens in early October and asks what people are willing to pay for. The first tax bills built on the town's new property assessments arrive nine months later. A resident asked the council in July to wait. Nobody answered him.
Farmington Approves the West Avon Road Wetland Restoration, One Letter Short
The wetland being restored at 114 West Avon Road does not stop at the property line. Farmington's Conservation and Inland Wetlands Commission tabled the plan on July 8 until both abutting owners sent letters of approval. Two weeks later it had one of the two, and approved anyway, without settling on the record what the missing letter is worth.
Early Voting Opens Monday. Here Is Your Ballot, and It Is One Race Long.
Early voting for the August 11 primary runs Monday through Sunday in the third-floor training room at Farmington's new Town Hall. Democrats vote in one race, governor. Republicans vote in one race, the 5th District congressional primary. And 8,414 residents are not eligible to vote at all.
Farmington's New Website Costs Less Than Budgeted. Keeping It Costs Four Times as Much.
The Farmington Town Council unanimously hired CivicPlus to rebuild the town's website for $61,690.98, about $13,300 under budget. Beginning in year two, keeping it running costs $48,902.68 a year, roughly four times what the town pays now, with a 5 percent annual escalator and automatic renewals. And if Farmington ever leaves, it keeps its data but loses the back end that runs the site.
A Used Bookstore Is Coming to River Road, Built for Browsing, Not Rushing
The Next Chapters Bookhouse, a used bookstore and cafe built for slow browsing, cleared its last zoning step on June 22 and is headed for a second-floor storefront on River Road in Unionville. Pre-loved books, a children's section, author nights, and a coffee bar in no hurry to sell you coffee.
Hartford Just Rewrote Farmington's Zoning. The Town's Planners Showed the Commission How Little Say It Has Left.
A new Connecticut law, Public Act 25-1, forces Farmington to approve two-to-nine-unit housing in its commercial and industrial zones with no public hearing. On June 22, the town's planners introduced the zoning rewrite it requires and showed the Plan and Zoning Commission how little discretion it has left. The public hearing is in September, but by law there will not be much of a hearing.
Noble Energy Withdraws Its Farmington Truck Stop Applications, Ending the Fight Without a Vote
Noble Energy withdrew both its wetlands and zoning applications for the proposed diesel truck stop on 86 acres above Batterson Park Pond, ending a fight that drew an intervener, dueling hydrology experts, and unanimous Town Council opposition. The company gave no reason. The project dies without a vote.