Two new self-storage facilities were approved on the city’s east end after both businesses made changes to their blueprints to create safer circulation designs and better-looking sites.
In one case, Danbury planners told the business to get rid of the garage-style roll-up doors on the building’s front façade, calling the design “not desirable.” In another case, Danbury told the business to pay for upgraded traffic detection video technology at the nearest traffic light to reduce congestion.
Both proposals were approved Wednesday night by the city’s Planning Commission.
The approvals for both sites follow protracted public hearings where planners focused on safety and aesthetics. The approved self-storage sites are the latest in a wave new space-rental facilities in Danbury as the popularity of apartments and condominiums outpaces the supply of secure places to keep extra belongings.
On Great Pasture Road at the Bethel border, for example, where a mother-and-son business is building a new self-storage site between two existing space rental facilities, businessman Joe Putnam was approved to build a fourth storage business on the block after he agreed to improve the architectural design.
Also on the east end, plans were approved Wednesday for an investor to raze industrial shops on Sand Pit Road and build a 92,000-square-foot self-storage rental site after the investor was told to replace the city’s antiquated traffic detection cameras at Starr Road and Beaver Brook Road.
Meanwhile, on the west side, a Georgia company is constructing a 105,000-square-foot Cube Smart facility two blocks west of an existing self-storage site. A self-storage business is also set to occupy space at The Summit office and residential complex near the New York border.
The space rental businesses, which are vying to fill an unmet market demand, are also competing, said Putnam, the owner of Putnam Automotive Group, the Amber Room Colonnade and other self-storage sites. He was also appointed to fill a vacancy on the City Council during the summer.
“Competition breeds success,” Putnam told Hearst Connecticut Media in May about his plans to knock down a single-family home on a 7-acre property and develop it with three self-storage buildings. “Being in competition will be good for all of us.”
The Planning Commission questioned Putnam’s representatives during a public hearing that was continued three times, in part over the initial negative visual impact of the proposed buildings.
“The (Planning) Department expresses concern about the presence of the overhead unit doors fronting along Great Pasture Road,” said a memo from the city’s planning staff about Putnam’s initial designs. “The use of roll-up metal doors and the chain link fence along the property frontage is not desirable.”
The memo recommended that Putnam get rid of the roll-up doors, and enhance the façade using different materials. Putnam complied, resulting in a design with a “cleaner look,” according to his engineer.
In the same way, the investor of the Sand Pit Road site was required to pay for upgraded traffic detection technology — a condition that was met with initial resistance.
“We disagree with the traffic engineer comments,” the investor’s attorney Amy Souchuns during a September public hearing. “But if that is something that the commission thinks is important — we are happy to discuss it.”
