The consultant firm Buckhurst Fish and Jacquemart (BFJ) reported at the January 29 Granby Center Advisory Committee meeting that it had met with some Granby Center property owners earlier in January. Traffic, parking issues, and zoning were discussed. The property owners supported having consistent landscaping and lighting throughout the center and hoped to keep its historic character. Although BFJ initiated some discussion of special districts, the owners showed little interest in that topic. Committee members would like to have more of the center property owners consulted. Director of Community Development Abby Kenyon agreed to obtain contact information for BFJ.
The presentation of a market study by BFJ participant Thomas Madden included a lot of information on business in Windsor and Hartford that actually “plays a crucial role for Granby with respect to residential draw, commuter routes and recreational amenities,” according to Committee Chair Marty Schwager.
Agreement was strong on the topic of investigating a possible change in the multiple zoning areas that make up the center. A simpler unified “Village District” was suggested. This will be discussed further at the Feb. 26 meeting. Meanwhile, Kenyon will look into the history of how the multiple center zones came to be.
In the Public Session, resident Kate Bogli stated that she thinks it is good to attract outsiders to Granby in support of local businesses. She also suggested taxing vacant properties to stimulate action by the owners of such properties to find occupants, and also requested clarification on the marketing study of other areas. Resident Peggy Lareau importantly noted the space constraint of the center, being located between two state roads, and cautioned to not make drastic changes all at once, but to consider incremental ones.
The next meeting was scheduled to take place on Feb. 26 and will be covered in the April issue of the Drummer.
Public meeting is 7 p.m., April 3 in the Senior Center