South Windsor PZC Approves Site Plan for New Credit Union

The South Windsor Planning and Zoning Commission Tuesday unanimously approved a site plan for the construction of a new credit union on Buckland Road.

The plan calls for a new, 2,600-square-foot American Eagle Federal Credit Union building to be built on the 2.1 acres of property located at 512 and 530 Buckland Road, which is essentially across the street from CVS.

The credit union would have between two and five employees working Monday through Saturday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursdays and 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturdays.

No new curb cuts will be required for the new credit union, as it will share a common entrance with Dr. Robert Grillo’s dentistry practice. In addition, the credit union will have 24 parking spots and a drive through window.

A traffic report by the applicant’s consultant revealed that the new credit union will have little impact on peak time travel, adding about 34 new cars during peak times during the weekday evenings and 16 in the mornings to Buckland Road.

The consultant said that was not much, considering that Buckland has about 16,000 cars per day traveling on the road.

Representatives from American Eagle Federal Credit Union said that they hope to have the new South Windsor location open by June 2013.

In other business, Rob Mannarino of Mannarino Builders Inc. addressed the commission about the possibility of changing the phasing requirements of the Dzen Tree Farm subdivision. Mannarino said that by mid-December, about 40 of the 64 single family houses will have been constructed upon the completion of the first two phases of the project.

The third phase, however, calls for the construction of 10 more homes and the extension of Frazer Fir Road all the way to Barber Hill Road. Mannarino spoke to the commission about merely building about 75 percent of the Frazer Fir extension - the proposal does not call for any change to the number of homes being built.

The incomplete extension would be turned into a temporary cul-de-sac until Phase IV is completed.

That drew the criticism of several neighbors, who submitted a petition against the proposed change in the phasing, citing heavy traffic and public safety concerns that Frazer Fir has not been completed.

Mannarino said that the change was necessary, however, because lenders would not finance such a large part of the project, which has been going on now for four years, well beyond the time estimated by the developer when construction first started.

“It has been a struggle,” Mannarino admitted.

No decision was rendered by the commission, as the item was merely brought up for discussion.