Enfield Updates Zoning, Approves King Street Excavation

ENFIELD, CT — Enfield’s Planning and Zoning Commission signed off Thursday night on an excavation permit on King Street and a state-mandated rewrite of local zoning language, while also flagging ongoing property maintenance problems at Enfield Square that commissioners said include a tire-damaging pothole near the Mobil station.

Enfield PZC approved a special permit for excavation activities at 1604 King St., where the applicant said the work is intended to create a large, graded “pad site” to help market the 26.42-acre property for future development. Project engineer Andrew Quirk of Kratzert, Jones & Associates told commissioners there are no concrete development plans tied to the application and that the permit request is limited to earthwork. He said the goal is to create a roughly 12.4-acre pad at about a 5 percent grade using mostly material already on-site, with an estimated import of around 2,000 cubic yards. Staff noted the application was filed after a cease-and-desist was issued, and a commissioner said photos in the packet appeared to show significant work had already started before the permit was sought.

As part of the approval, the commission adopted conditions that include limits on operating hours, with excavation, fill and removal allowed only on weekdays between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., and no work on weekends or holidays. Staff also said the approval uses a two-year timeframe consistent with the excavation regulations, rather than the commission’s typical five-year window for other approvals.

In a separate 7–0 vote, the commission approved a text amendment prompted by Public Act 23-142 that removes local zoning barriers for family and group child care homes in residential zones and revises local decision criteria so applications cannot be denied based on a district’s “character.” Town staff told the commission Enfield is eliminating language that required a special permit for certain child care homes and replacing “character”-based wording with more objective phrasing. The public hearing drew no comments, and the amendment was approved with an effective date of March 2, 2026, after staff clarified an earlier “cut-and-paste” error in the motion language.

The commission also briefly discussed ongoing code and maintenance issues at Enfield Square Mall, including a pothole commissioners said can “eat your tire” near the Mobil station. The town’s zoning enforcement officer said he previously issued a violation notice to the property’s owners regarding site maintenance, lighting, and landscaping, and said he would check the area again.

Numerous emails sent by Patch to Enfield Square’s ownership seeking updates on the mall’s status and maintenance following its closure have gone unanswered.