Zoning Regulation Amendment Would Allow Drive-In Movie Theaters

The Stonington Planning and Zoning Commission is considering a zoning regulation amendment that would allow temporary drive-in movie theaters to come to the area. 

At Tuesday’s pzc meeting the commission asked staff to create an application for a zoning regulation amendment for TC-80.  The idea of the regulation is to allow temporary drive-ins on properties of a certain size and minimum number of parking spaces.

The decision comes after representatives from the asked during a February pzc meeting for an interpretation of the regulations surrounding drive-in movies.

As part of a new summer series the aquarium wants to show eight drive-in movies in July and August. According to the aquarium a temporary 40-feet wide movie screen that will be about 20-feet off the ground would be put up on the day of the movie and taken down within the next day. The movie screen will be located in one of their parking lots off of Coogan Boulevard.

“We see it as a great benefit for Mystic,” Cassandra Meyer-Ogren from the Mystic Aquarium said during the February meeting. “We’re hoping to get people to stay longer, to go out for dinner at one of the restaurants.”

Commission members questioned how the drive-in would affect traffic on Coggan Boulevard and on Interstate-95 but decided to allow an application for zoning regulation amendment.

Town Planner Keith Brynes said he would settle on an appropriate number of parking spaces for the amendment by the end of next week and submit the new zoning regulation amendment application by March 16, 2012.

The pzc will take up the application at their March 21, 2012 meeting. Based on approval of the amendment the Mystic Aquarium will then submit and application for the eight dates in July and August.

The Mystic Aquarium may also submit a separate application for a one-time outdoor exhibit that would allow them to show one drive-in movie in April or May.  If approved the pzc would use that showing to see the exhibit and how it impacts the surrounding area before deciding whether or not to approve the summer application.