Valley Independent Sentinel
DERBY — The members of the city’s planning and zoning commission Sept. 16 unanimously approved an application for a new business use at the corner of Cedric Avenue and Roosevelt Drive in west Derby.
Specifically, the commission granted a “special exception use application” that allows Superior Water & Radon Systems, LLC to set up shop at 433 Roosevelt Drive. The family-owned company, currently based in Seymour, is in the process of purchasing the property, which has been home to an antiques shop for some 30 years, according to statements made at the Sept. 16 meeting.
According to a statement of use submitted by Dominick Thomas, the lawyer representing Superior, 433 Roosevelt Drive has about a half acre of land with two buildings.
Superior wants to connect the buildings, and use a front building as office space. The rear building would be used for supply storage, a work area, and a place to park the company’s well pump truck.
The business would operate from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, according to the submission. Those are the regular business hours. Employees would have to respond to the business after hours to handle emergency calls from customers.
There are three employees and two owners.
The documents submitted said there would be some equipment assembly happening at the site, but Thomas said that was a mistake.
The commission accepted the application in August, and then held a public hearing before approving it Sept. 16.
Andrew Baklik, a Derby native whose family owns an apartment complex nearby, welcomed the new business, but asked that deliveries and such be kept to normal business hours.
Cedric Avenue is mostly residential as is Park Avenue, a nearby road. There are industrial uses on the south side of Park Avenue heading east. That has created issues with neighbors, who have had to contend with middle-of-the night garbage trucks, tractor-trailers, and construction equipment. Derby officials have also allowed the industrial use to encroach into the Park Avenue residential zone, by allowing a parking lot in the residential zone to be used for the storage of industrial vehicles and equipment.
To cut down on potential conflict, the commission set nine conditions upon its approval. Those conditions included maintaining a fence to screen the property from residential neighbors on Cedric Avenue, along with landscaping improvements, and to keep deliveries tied to the hours of operation. The business will have to add ADA compliant parking if needed.
The land at 433 Roosevelt Drive is in Derby’s “B‑2” zone, according to the city’s online assessor’s database. That’s a business zone “designed to provide sites for essential retail services in or adjacent to residential neighborhoods,” according to Derby’s zoning code.
Click here to learn more about Superior Water & Radon Systems.
Click here to read the company’s statement of use for the property from the City of Derby website.
Seymour Business Moving To Derby – Valley Independent Sentinel
