Design One Focus Of Regulatory Review For Rockville Dollar General

VERNON, CT — The Vernon Planning and Zoning Commission this week will be taking the first public testimony on a Dollar General store proposed to take over two vacancies in Downtown Rockville.

A public hearing has been scheduled for Thursday's PZC meeting, slated for 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall.

The plans were submitted by developer Garrett Homes for property owner West Hartford Gas Inc. in late May. Two parcels are involved — 38 and 42 East Main St., which sit at the corner of East Main and Court streets. The plans call for the demolition of both vacant buildings and replacing them with a 10,764-square-foot retail store. Parking would be to the rear of the building.
The Dollar General would be corporately owned, officials said.

Where the property sits — inside the Rockville Historic District — has made the application tricky. The Vernon Local Historic Properties Commission has expressed reservations to the PZC in a letter dated July 27. Some of the concerns center around building materials and a 2-story or 25-foot height requirement. The original plans called for what Vernon Director of Development Services Shaun Gately termed a "fake" second floor that could satisfy the requirements on paper, but doesn't necessarily go with the intent of the Historic Properties Commission.

"The proposed structure maintains the one-story precedent of the ill-conceived redevelopment project which preceded this proposal," historic properties commission members wrote to the PZC. "While meeting the letter of the regulation, the proposed one-story structure completely ignores the intent of the RVDOZ as expressed in Section 24.1 — assuring that new structures and uses, in their design and layout, will be in keeping with the historical development pattern and character of Rockville."

Gately said the developer has been working with town officials.

"He's been very responsive to a commission set up to assure we have quality development in our historic areas — to keep out unwanted, ugly development," Gately said. "The message of the Historic Properties Commission has been, 'Don't we deserve better?' The developer has been working to satisfy these requirements."

In the end, Gately said, "this Dollar General will be like no other we've seen built." Vernon has two other Dollar General stores in town — on Route 83 and Route 30 — that feature the discount chain's typical, no-frills design.

"Obviously, this can't be built just like Town Hall or the churches in downtown Rockville. But I think we can work to meet the requirements," Gately said.

The premise of locating a Dollar General in Downtown Rockville is to serve a population that doesn't necessarily rely on cars for transportation, officials said.