Commission votes 6-1 to deny Carr Avenue rezoning

Planning and Zoning · Meeting of August 26, 2026

Newington Planning and Zoning Commission voted 6-1 to deny a zone change for 180 Carr Avenue, keeping the five-acre parcel residential. Commissioner Woods cast the lone dissent after the panel first voted 5-2 to close the public hearing. Attorney Matthew Choliwa and engineer Brian Panico argued the Eversource-easement-encumbered site, owned by Kevin Sisti's Tunxis Road LLC, could never be economically developed as housing and proposed three light-industrial buildings totaling about 26,000 square feet.

Nearly 50 Tremont Street and Carr Avenue residents signed petitions opposing the change, citing flooding, high-voltage lines and school-route traffic. Resident Jan Critzman told commissioners neighbors were "mad as hell and they don't want to take it anymore." The denial cited inconsistency with the town's 2020-2030 Plan of Conservation and Development, which commissioners said requires protecting residential areas from industrial encroachment.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,193 words

Source: the Planning and Zoning meeting of August 26, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.

The Full Article

Zoning Officer's Report and Routine Matters

Before the main hearing, Assistant Acting Town Planner Eric Hinkley gave a brief update on unregistered vehicle complaints across town, telling commissioners that totals have held steady and that his office's only enforcement tool is issuing a notice of violation and running plates through the Department of Motor Vehicles, since "the police have nothing to do with it." Commissioners asked no further questions, and the item consumed only a few minutes.

Public Hearing: 180 Carr Avenue Zone Change — Background and Stakes

The hearing on petition TPZ 26-11 was the night's central business. Tunxis Road LLC, owned by Kevin S. Sisti, asked the commission to rezone a roughly five-acre Newington portion of an 11.65-acre site at 180 Carr Avenue from R20 residential to I industrial. The larger parcel extends west into New Britain, where six acres are already zoned industrial and abut an active railroad line. Hinkley told the commission the hearing had originally been scheduled earlier in August but was moved after the town posted a deficient legal notice. He also noted a prior, unrelated attempt to rezone the same property from R20 to RP was denied in 1990, a notice of which was entered into the record Wednesday.

The question before the commission was narrow: whether to change the zoning designation itself, not whether to approve any specific building. As Commissioner Woods put it, a yes vote "just goes to the next step" of site plan review, where frontage, fire access, drainage and environmental questions would still have to be resolved.

The Applicant's Case

Attorney Matthew Choliwa (also rendered in the transcript as Kalia and Kaliwa), engineer Brian Panico of Cole Civil and Survey, and Sisti presented the case. Panico said a 150-foot-wide Eversource transmission easement and steep topography, with a 60- to 70-foot grade change between the buildable area and the backyards of Tremont Street homes, leave only about one acre of usable land on the Newington side. Their concept plan shows three buildings totaling roughly 26,000 square feet, well under the 40,000 square feet Panico said the full buildable acre could theoretically support. Building heights would stay below the elevation of neighboring backyards even at the industrial zone's maximum of three stories and 45 feet, according to Panico.

Sisti told the commission he bought the property in 2024 intending to develop and retain ownership, framing the project as a home for small Newington businesses. "I'd love to see someone start by renting one of these small units, build a successful company, and eventually be in a position to buy their own building," he said. He argued the site's history, decades of unbuilt residential zoning, shows the existing designation offers no "reasonable and viable economic use," a standard he said Connecticut law entitles a property owner to pursue.

Commission Questions: Frontage, Fire Access, Eversource, Sequencing

Commissioners, led by an unnamed member addressed as "Mr. Chairman" during the exchange and later identified through context as raising most of the procedural concerns, focused on four issues. First, the site's current frontage falls short of the 80-foot minimum for R20 and 70-foot minimum for industrial zoning; Panico proposed building a town-standard cul-de-sac on-site and deeding it to Newington to cure the deficiency, an approach Hinkley confirmed has precedent for substandard lots elsewhere. Second, fire apparatus access: Commissioner Fox, a retired firefighter, said he had walked the site and doubted the layout would satisfy the fire department, and asked whether the applicant's team had spoken with Fire Chief Jeff Trama. "We have not," Panico and Sisti's team acknowledged. Fox said he wanted the chief to personally confirm access before any zone change. Hinkley said plans had been sent to the fire marshal and fire chief the prior week at the chairman's request but had drawn no response, and that formal fire department review typically occurs only at site plan stage, not during a zone change.

Third, Eversource: the applicant's team said they were in informal talks with an Eversource right-of-way representative, Jason Westbrook, who indicated parking and temporary storage, but no permanent structures, could occur under the lines, pending a formal application once a site plan exists. Fourth, sequencing: Commissioner Woods and others noted the applicant was asking for a zone change before identifying an end user, which the applicant's team said was unavoidable because "you can't get the end user until you rezone." Commissioner Morales, participating remotely, asked whether an environmental review had been completed; the team confirmed only a Phase One assessment, which came back clean, with a Phase Two review deferred to the financing stage.

Public Opposition

Opposition was extensive. The town clerk's office had received a petition signed by 43 residents, filed August 24, plus a phone call from a 133 Tremont Street resident and written testimony from Michael Galante (102 Tremont Street), Sarah Furtack (162 Carr Avenue) and Frank Roback (85 Tremont Street), all entered into the record before public comment began. Roback's letter, addressed to "Chairperson Sobieski and members of the Commission," argued the rezoning amounted to impermissible spot zoning and conflicted with the town's 2020-2030 Plan of Conservation and Development, which he said commits Newington to remaining "primarily a medium-density, single-family, owner-occupied community." He asked that, if the commission leaned toward approval, it require an independent traffic study, a drainage study and enforceable buffering conditions.

In person, Jan Critzman, a nearly 50-year Tremont Street resident, said a weekend canvass of the neighborhood gathered close to 50 signatures and invoked the film "Network" to describe residents' mood: "They are mad as hell and they don't want to take it anymore." Her husband, Harold Critzman, described chronic basement flooding and said an underground drainage pipe installed decades ago already struggles to handle runoff from the hillside; he argued that clearing any more of the wooded slope "can only result in worse flooding." Gerry O'Donoghue of 7 Red Rock Circle, speaking remotely, and William Misko of 45 Tremont Street both raised traffic concerns, with Misko specifically flagging the intersection of New Britain Avenue, Carr Avenue and Beacon Street and the Boylston Street route past the town's elementary and middle schools.

Lisa Lukowitz and her husband, Bob Luckowitz, of 107 Tremont Street, said the existing buffer between their home and industrial noise from John Downey Drive would be undermined, with Lisa Lukowitz telling the commission the project represented "a tipping point" for the neighborhood. Rosanne Santoro, Mitchell Underwood, James Brown and Mike Phelps each cited traffic, wildlife displacement, drainage and precedent concerns. Phelps, who said he had researched historical zoning maps at the town planner's office and library, noted that industrial lots elsewhere on Carr Avenue are smaller, roughly two-tenths of an acre, and argued the applicant's conceptual plan did not meet the detail required under zoning regulation 3.16.2(B). Joseph Kumbalski Sr. of 138 Carr Avenue described existing traffic and parking problems on his street, including vehicles striking his mailbox, and opposed any increase. No speaker appeared in favor of the petition.

Deliberation and Vote

After the applicant's rebuttal, in which Panico reiterated that Eversource restrictions limit what can realistically be built under the transmission lines, commissioners debated whether to leave the hearing open for further input, including from the fire chief, or close it. Commissioner Fox moved to close; Commissioner Harpy seconded. On a roll call, Fox, Harpy, Pasquale, Miner and a fifth member voted to close, while Woods voted against, preferring to keep the hearing open. The motion carried 5-2.

Commissioners then moved to deny the petition. The motion, as read into the record, stated: "Move to deny the zone change from R20 to I-Industrial Zone. Reason for denial, the rezoning of this property is not consistent with the POCD as it does not adequately protect residentially zoned properties from industrial uses." On the roll call, Miner and Gill voted in favor of denial, Woods voted against (meaning he favored the zone change), and the motion passed 6-1. One commissioner explained her vote by saying it would be "unfair to the public" who had turned out to oppose the project to approve a change without a concrete plan addressing their concerns.

New Business and Zoning Officer Updates

Hinkley previewed two petitions for the commission's next meeting: an interior-lot application at 227 Maple Hill Avenue with frontage on Locust Drive, and a freestanding monument sign for the Culver Street Apartments. He then ran through a list of pending projects: the 220 Kitts Lane affordable housing project has submitted final plans awaiting the conservation chair's signature before building permits issue; a developer there must also submit a site plan modification addressing a sound wall versus arborvitae buffer by year's end. The 103 Lewis Street project (another Pat Snow development) has submitted plans under review. The Spark Apartments and Culver Street apartments both expect partial certificates of occupancy this fall. A trench on Culver Street will be repaired within 30 to 45 days, weather permitting, under an agreement between the developer and town engineer. Hinkley also confirmed a pending Brownfield grant application, due in early September, for a small parking lot, stressing the town serves only as a pass-through and bears no cost.

Public Participation: Round Two

Bill McCarthy of 206 Churchill Drive praised the turnout for the Carr Avenue hearing and encouraged continued civic engagement. Russ Sando of 42 Wells Drive raised early opposition to a separate, not-yet-filed proposal near 40 Mill Street Extension, an open-space-zoned lot, saying he regretted not engaging sooner with a different, unrelated town council matter and urging the commission to value tree preservation. Hinkley clarified that no zone change, site plan, or statutory referral application has been filed for that parcel. Mike Phelps returned to ask the commission to consider strengthening regulation 3.16.2(B) to specify what a conceptual site plan must include; Hinkley agreed to follow up.

Commissioner Remarks and Adjournment

In closing remarks, Commissioner Harpy confirmed a Culver Street trench repair timeline with Hinkley. Commissioner Fox asked about the status of a sale involving a Carr Avenue business; Hinkley said a tentative closing date exists but was unconfirmed. Commissioner Gill asked about paving work at a Garfield Street property, which Hinkley said falls under town engineering and facilities, not commission review. The meeting adjourned without further business.

WHO WAS THERE

Chairman Sobieski, presiding. Commissioner Fox, present and voting. Commissioner Harpy (also heard in the transcript as Hoffey and Arpey), present and voting. Commissioner Miner (also recorded at roll call as Mayim; first name confirmed as Chris during discussion), present and voting. Commissioner Pasquale (also recorded as Pascarelli and Pascoe), present and voting. Commissioner Woods, present and voting. Commissioner Gill, seated in place of absent Commissioner Kane, present and voting. Commissioner Morales, participating remotely, present and voting. Commissioner Bryce Davis, named at roll call; no further participation recorded, attendance unclear. Eric Hinkley, Assistant Acting Town Planner, staff. A recording clerk conducting roll calls, referred to inconsistently in the transcript as Maureen, Lorraine and Noreen; no surname given.

Applicant team: Kevin S. Sisti, owner, Tunxis Road LLC; Matthew Choliwa, attorney for the applicant; Brian Panico, project engineer, Cole Civil and Survey.

Public commenters in opposition (in-person): Jan Critzman and Harold Critzman, Tremont Street; Gerry O'Donoghue, 7 Red Rock Circle (remote); William Misko, 45 Tremont Street; Lisa Lukowitz and Bob Luckowitz, 107 Tremont Street; Rosanne Santoro, 35 Tremont Street; Mitchell Underwood, 66 Tremont Street; James Brown, 96 Tremont Street; Mike Phelps, 108 Tremont Street; Joseph Kumbalski Sr., 138 Carr Avenue; one unnamed longtime Tremont Street resident.

Written testimony submitted: Michael Galante, 102 Tremont Street; Sarah Furtack, 162 Carr Avenue; Frank Roback, 85 Tremont Street; plus petitions totaling approximately 50 signatures.

Unrelated public participation: Bill McCarthy, 206 Churchill Drive; Russ Sando, 42 Wells Drive.

No one spoke in favor of the petition.

ORGANIZATIONS AND DOCUMENTS REFERENCED

Tunxis Road LLC — applicant and property owner seeking the 180 Carr Avenue zone change. Cole Civil and Survey — engineering firm representing the applicant, prepared the conceptual site plan presented at the hearing. Eversource (identified in older easement documents as Connecticut Light and Power/CLMP) — holds a 150-foot transmission easement across the site; applicant cited informal talks with Eversource contact Jason Westbrook. City of New Britain — abutting municipality with zoning authority over six acres of the applicant's larger parcel; would separately review any future site plan. Newington Fire Department, Chief Jeff Trama — commissioners sought the chief's input on emergency vehicle access; department did not respond to plans sent by the town planner. Newington 2020-2030 Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) — cited by opponents and in the commission's formal reason for denial as the policy document the rezoning conflicts with. Petition TPZ 26-11 — the zoning map amendment application that was the subject of the hearing. 1990 Notice of Public Hearing — prior unsuccessful attempt to rezone the same parcel from R20 to RP, read into the record. Zoning regulation 3.16.2(B) — governs conceptual site plan requirements for industrial zone change applications; resident Mike Phelps asked that it be clarified. Resident opposition petitions (43 signatures filed August 24; approximately 50 gathered in a weekend canvass) — entered into the record ahead of public comment.